The legal authority for US spy agencies’ collection of Americans’ phone records and other data has expired after the US Senate failed to pass legislation extending the powers.
The Senate voted on Sunday to move ahead with reform legislation that would replace the bulk phone records programmes revealed two years ago by Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor.
The vote came after an exhaustive debate pitting Americans’ distrust of intrusive government against fears of violent attacks.
It was a victory for Democratic President Barack Obama, who had pushed hard for Congress to advance the reform measure, calling it a compromise that addressed privacy concerns while preserving a programme his administration describes as important to protect the country from attack.
But final Senate passage was delayed until at least Tuesday morning by objections from Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican presidential hopeful who has fulminated against the NSA programme as illegal and unconstitutional.
Resumption likely
As a result, the government’s collection and search of phone records was set to terminate at midnight when provisions of a post-9/11 law known as the USA Patriot Act expire.
Still, eventual resumption of the phone records programme in another form appeared likely after the Senate voted 77-17 to take up the reform legislation, called the USA Freedom Act
For More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/senate-debates-future-surveillance-powers-150531213846837.html