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                 US Court: NSA Can Resume Bulk Data Collection

   by VOA News

   A U.S. court has ruled that the National Security Agency can
   temporarily resume its bulk collection of Americans' telephone records.

   The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Monday ruled that the
   NSA could resume gathering millions of Americans' phone metadata --
   call times, dates and durations -- to scan for links to foreign
   terrorists.

   The program was suspended after an appeals court in May ruled that the
   U.S. Patriot Act had never authorized the NSA to collect such data.

   A new law, called the Freedom Act, which substantially reformed and
   narrowed the bulk phone data program, was signed by President Barack
   Obama a day after the existing program lapsed on June 1.

   The ruling late Monday allows the program to resume for 180 days, in
   compliance with the new law. The six month period was designed to give
   the NSA time to set up an alternative system in which the data is
   stored by the phone companies.

   The U.S. Justice Department welcomed the decision. "We agree with the
   Court's conclusion that the program is lawful, and that in passing the
   USA Freedom Act, Congress provided for a 180 day transition period for
   the government to continue the existing collection program until the
   new mechanism of obtaining call detail records is implemented," said
   Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-court-nsa-can-resume-bulk-data-col
   lection/2844037.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-court-nsa-can-resume-bulk-data-collection/2844037.html