The topic of
discussion for this Freedom Friday is the USA Freedom Act that ends the bulk
collection of telephone data by the National Security Agency. The bill passed the U.S. Senate with a vote
of 67-32 without any amendments and was signed into law by Barack Obama on
Tuesday evening.
The USA Freedom Act restored three key sections of the Patriot Act anti-terrorism law that expired
on Sunday night at midnight; these sections have been extended through 2019. This new law curbs the power of the NSA, but
it does not guarantee that our federal government will respect the Fourth
Amendment. Under the new law, private
telephone companies will keep records of every call made in the United States,
and the government can still obtain the data but will need permission from a
federal court to get it. This law was a
victory for those seeking to protect privacy rights.
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