Americas...:US Congress Curbs NSA Surveillance, Obama Signs ...

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US Congress Curbs NSA Surveillance, Obama Signs into Law

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law landmark legislation ending the government's bulk telephone data dragnet, significantly reversing American policy by reining in the most controversial surveillance program since 9/11.

The bill was given final passage earlier Tuesday by the US Senate, after being approved by the House several days earlier.
The measure reauthorizes key national security programs that had lapsed early this week.

"Glad the Senate finally passed the USA Freedom Act. It protects civil liberties and our national security," President Barack Obama said on Twitter shortly before he signed it.

In a separate statement earlier, Obama chided lawmakers for the "needless delay and inexcusable lapse in important national security authorities," in the days leading up to the bill's eventual passage.

"My administration will work expeditiously to ensure our national security professionals again have the full set of vital tools they need to continue protecting the country," he said.

The bill halts the National Security Agency's ability to scoop up and store metadata - telephone numbers, dates and times of calls - from millions of Americans who have no connection to terrorism.

The vote follows days of sharp debate on the floor, with many Republicans split over their support for strong counterterror measures and the need for personal privacy protections in the wake of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's bombshell revelations about the bulk data dragnet in 2013.

The Republican divisions, as well as delay tactics by Senator Rand Paul, a 2016 presidential candidate, forced an expiration of the bulk data collection program and two other sections of the USA Patriot Act, roving wiretap and lone-wolf tracking authorities, all of which expired at midnight Sunday.

The legislation that passed Tuesday would reauthorize the latter two provisions.
One of the changes would have extended the transition period from six months to a year from NSA storage to telecoms storage of the data.

The vote occurred against a backdrop of Republican infighting and tension about the bill.

House leaders had warned that any change to the bill could delay its final passage or even kill it, which would have meant several national security authorizations expiring for good.

Many major Internet firms declared victory with the congressional approval.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team