Reform surveillance bill is signed into law; US call data will be held by telecoms rather than NSA
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President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law the new USA Freedom Act, which bans bulk collection of U.S. cellphone and Internet data by the National Security Agency.
The new law will require telecoms rather than the government to maintain call data. That data could be searched with an order by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, report the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the New York Times and the Associated Press. Telecoms will take over the job of holding data during a six-month transition period.
The law also requires the surveillance court to declassify its most important decisions, or to provide a summary if it’s not possible, according to the Times and AP. It also allows outsiders to argue on behalf of privacy in some cases before the court, the Times says.
The new law does not affect NSA collection of foreign Internet data from U.S. companies, “a program that sweeps up lots of American communications,” AP says.
Obama signed the bill hours after the Senate approved it on Tuesday. The House passed the bill in May.
Third paragraph updated at 1:30 p.m. to remove extraneous word.
