Legislation To End NSA Phone Records Collection Revealed

A source speaking to The New York Times on Tuesday hinted at upcoming legislation that would aim to end the NSA's controversial bulk phone records collection. Today the Obama administration has introduced that legislation, getting it in a day sooner than the original deadline given to the Department of Justice.

The goal of the new legislation, the Obama administration has revealed, is to remove the metadata collection process without hindering the capabilities it needs. Under this goal, the administration has revealed a new program that would be created in substitution.

Under the new program, no bulk telephone records will be collected, and no carriers/service providers will not be required to store them for any increased length of time. Records could only be acquired through a FISC order, except in the cases of emergencies, the definition of which was not stated.

Records provided under the FISC's approval would be within two hops, with "any records [the government] acquires [being] governed by minimization procedures approved by the FISC." Furthermore, these approved records would then be available to the NSA for data gathering without further approval for "a limited time period."

Rounding it all out would be a requirement for carriers and related companies to give any assistance needed for providing timely access to required records "in a usable format", following in line with the information leaked earlier this week. The legislation must be approved for the new program to go into effect.

SOURCE: White House