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US Appeals Court Says NSA Phone Surveillance Is Not Authorized By Congress
New submitter IronOxen writes: A panel of three federal judges for the second circuit overturned an earlier ruling. The court has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency: "'We hold that the text of section 215 cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign to it, and that it does not authorize the telephone metadata program,' concluded their judgement." That's not exactly saying that such bulk collection is unconscionable or per se unconstitutional, but it's a major step toward respecting privacy as a default.
maybe now we can pardon Snowden?
No, not authorized is a lighter ruling. It means tomorrow congress can pass a law explicitly allowing it, and there would be no problem cuz it wasn't ruled unconstitutional.
Not authorized isn't a lighter ruling, it's a very damning ruling against the NSA, and it's the only ruling that can be made in this case simply for the reason that there was no law on the books where Congress gave authorization for the NSA to operate like this. To put it succinctly: The NSA was ruled to be operating outside the law... which effectively makes them criminals (won't be holding my breath for any actual prosecutions, though).
Now, if Congress goes back and creates a law that Authorizes the NSA to operate in this manner, then the issue can be brought back to court for Judgement to be made on the constitutionality of the law. Then that verdict will hold a more permanent weight on the future of government surveillance and the kind of laws Congress is able to write around it.