Senate lets NSA spy programme expire

Washington: The legal authority for US spy agencies’ collection of Americans’ phone records and other data expired on Monday after the Senate failed to pass legislation extending their powers. After debate pitting Americans’ distrust of intrusive government against fears of terrorist attacks, the Senate voted to advance reform legislation that would replace the bulk phone records program revealed two years ago by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

 

Although the Senate did not act in time to keep the programme from expiring, the vote was at least a partial victory for Democratic President Barack Obama, who had pushed for the reform measure as a compromise addressing privacy concerns while preserving a tool to help protect the country from attack.

 

But final Senate passage was delayed by objections from Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican presidential hopeful who has fulminated against the NSA program as illegal and unconstitutional.

As a result, the government’s collection and search of phone records terminated when key provisions of a post-September 11, 2001, law known as the USA Patriot Act expired.

 

In addition, US law enforcement and security agencies will lose authority to conduct other programmes. Those allow for “roving wiretaps” aimed at terrorism suspects who use multiple disposable cell phones; permit authorities to target “lone wolf” suspects with no connection to specific terrorist groups, and make it easier to seize personal and business records of suspects and their associates.

 

Still, eventual resumption of the phone records programme in another form, and the other government powers, appeared likely after the Senate voted 77-17 to take up the reform legislation, called the USA Freedom Act. “This bill will ultimately pass,” Paul acknowledged after the procedural vote.