Bulk-Collection

NSA Officially Ends Bulk Phone Metadata Collection Under USA Freedom Act

| Importance: 9/10

The NSA officially ended its bulk collection of Americans’ telephone metadata at 11:59 PM on November 29, 2015, as required by the USA Freedom Act passed by Congress in June 2015. The program, which had operated under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act since 2006, systematically collected …

NSA Congress Barack Obama Edward Snowden FISA Court nsa-surveillance surveillance-reform usa-freedom-act bulk-collection privacy-rights +1 more
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Obama Announces Limited NSA Reforms While Preserving Core Surveillance Programs

| Importance: 8/10

President Obama delivered a major address at the Department of Justice outlining reforms to NSA surveillance programs in response to Edward Snowden’s revelations, but the proposed changes left core bulk collection authorities largely intact while adding modest procedural safeguards. The speech …

Barack Obama NSA FISA Court Edward Snowden nsa-surveillance obama-administration surveillance-reform bulk-collection privacy-rights
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NSA Launches MAINWAY Database for Mass Metadata Collection

| Importance: 9/10

The NSA began operating MAINWAY, a massive database system built to support the STELLARWIND surveillance program, collecting telephone metadata from major U.S. carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Built in urgent haste after September 11, MAINWAY became what sources described as …

NSA AT&T Verizon T-Mobile FBI +2 more mainway metadata-collection mass-surveillance stellarwind telecommunications +2 more
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