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FISA Court Reverses Order To Destroy NSA Phone Data

Posted by timothy on from the rule-of-men-and-not-of-law dept.

itwbennett writes "The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has temporarily reversed its earlier order that call records collected by the National Security Agency should be destroyed after the current five-year limit. The court modified its stand after a District Court in California on Monday ordered the government to retain phone records it collects in bulk from telecommunications carriers, as the metadata could be required as evidence in two civil lawsuits that challenge the NSA's phone records program under section 215 of the Patriot Act."

11 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Now we're keeping the data... by i+kan+reed · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... to prove we're not abusing it. Yeah, that's the ticket.

    (No, this seems like a possibly reasonable decision, for normal courtish type reasons)

  2. Handy by s.petry · · Score: 2, Insightful

    FISA claims it's to hold for court purposes, but the NSA can still search this data while they hold it. So it suits at least one purpose which I'm sure we agree with, but should have come with a very specific instruction like "knock off the bullshit, you treasonous bastards!".

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:Handy by geekoid · · Score: 2

      They aren't treasonous. Do you even know what that word means?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Handy by s.petry · · Score: 3, Informative

      I do know what the word means, do you know what both the NSA and FISA courts have been doing which compromises the integrity of our Democratic Republic form of Government? You do not see how smear campaigns based on illegally obtained information breaks the Democracy?

      Yes they are treasonous, do some homework.

      People are not mad about the NSA investigating Iran's centrifuges they are mad at how the NSA is abusing powers to spy on everyone in the world, and sell data which reduces liberty and democracy world wide. They are mad about FISA courts becoming a rubber stamp organization for this agency to abuse it's powers.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    3. Re:Handy by Krishnoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      FISA claims it's to hold for court purposes, but the NSA can still search this data while they hold it.

      I would think that holding this data:

      • works against the NSA, as its surveillance utility decreases as a function of time,
      • works for the litigants, as long as it contains evidence against the defendants usable within the statute of limitations for any wrongdoing it reveals.
    4. Re:Handy by cold+fjord · · Score: 2

      If you ever find yourself up on charges before a court, I have a piece of advice for you: get a lawyer, a real lawyer. One that understands the law.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    5. Re:Handy by mcl630 · · Score: 4, Informative

      From TFA:

      The data preserved beyond five years cannot be accessed by NSA intelligence analysts for any purpose, and can only be accessed by technical personnel for ensuring continued compliance with the government's preservation obligations, Judge Walton wrote in his revised order.

      So no, they can't search it, at least not without running afoul of the FISA court's order (not that that has stopped them before).

    6. Re:Handy by s.petry · · Score: 2

      Well stated. If the judge told them to put it on an encrypted device where they didn't have the keys I'd feel much better.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    7. Re:Handy by NicBenjamin · · Score: 2

      Re-read the Constitution. It's only about democracy in the wet dreams of particularly stupid high school civics teachers.

      It specifically allows slavery, even tho it's too cowardly to use the word. It even gives slave-holding states extra votes in Congress. There is no right to vote. The Constitution was adopted partly because the preceding Articles of Confederation hadn't created a strong enough government to ethnically cleanse Ohio of Indians properly.

      I'll admit that it turned into a fairly democratic, and pro-freedom document; and that the Founders were really good at pretending they only wanted to protect freedom. But we were not a Democracy in any meaningful sense of the term prior to the Abolition of Slavery, and we not really a very good Democracy until LBJ broke segregation. Since the legal definition of treason precede both events it cannot possibly be related to the US being a democracy.

  3. Really? by the_skywise · · Score: 2

    Couldn't we just keep metadata of the metadata records? Wouldn't that be evidence enough of criminal intent? No no... we have to keep ALL the actual records (and recordings I bet) for uh... the Presidential Libraries... Both of them (for now)...

    1. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Not only that, it has already been demonstrated that the data collected has been abused from it's intended purpose. Those crying "paranoid" are very strangely, now, the delusional ones.