US Senate votes to curtail bulk data collection - BBC News
The US Senate has voted to limit the government's ability to collect phone data, a policy that had been in place since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
[h=2]Patriot Act vs Freedom Act[/h]What is changing? The expiry of the Patriot Act brings to an end bulk collection of Americans' phone metadata - who called who, when and for how long, but not the content of calls - by the US. Under its successor, records must be held by telecommunications companies and investigators need a court order to access specific information. Technology companies will be given greater leeway to reveal data requests. The measures are intended to balance concerns on privacy with providing the authorities the tools they need to prevent attacks.
What stays the same? Key parts of the Patriot Act are retained in the Freedom Act. They include the provision allowing the monitoring of "lone wolf" suspects - potential attackers not linked to foreign terror groups, despite the US authorities admitting the powers have never been used. The Freedom Act also maintains a provision allowing investigators to monitor travel and business records of individuals, something law officers says is more effective than bulk collection
We are not collecting the information of spies. We are not collecting the information of terrorists. We are collecting all American citizens' records all of the time," Mr Paul said. "This is what we fought the revolution over."
Speaking on the floor of the Senate Mr McConnell said the law will "take one more tool away from those who defend our country every day"
The US Senate has voted to limit the government's ability to collect phone data, a policy that had been in place since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
[h=2]Patriot Act vs Freedom Act[/h]What is changing? The expiry of the Patriot Act brings to an end bulk collection of Americans' phone metadata - who called who, when and for how long, but not the content of calls - by the US. Under its successor, records must be held by telecommunications companies and investigators need a court order to access specific information. Technology companies will be given greater leeway to reveal data requests. The measures are intended to balance concerns on privacy with providing the authorities the tools they need to prevent attacks.
What stays the same? Key parts of the Patriot Act are retained in the Freedom Act. They include the provision allowing the monitoring of "lone wolf" suspects - potential attackers not linked to foreign terror groups, despite the US authorities admitting the powers have never been used. The Freedom Act also maintains a provision allowing investigators to monitor travel and business records of individuals, something law officers says is more effective than bulk collection
We are not collecting the information of spies. We are not collecting the information of terrorists. We are collecting all American citizens' records all of the time," Mr Paul said. "This is what we fought the revolution over."
Speaking on the floor of the Senate Mr McConnell said the law will "take one more tool away from those who defend our country every day"
