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NSA phone data collection 'not illegal', US court rules NSA phone data collection 'not illegal', US court rules
(35 minutes later)
A US appeals court has overturned a ruling that deemed the National Security Agency's (NSA) bulk collection of phone records to be illegal.A US appeals court has overturned a ruling that deemed the National Security Agency's (NSA) bulk collection of phone records to be illegal.
District of Columbia judges said the plaintiffs had failed to prove they had been targeted for NSA surveillance.District of Columbia judges said the plaintiffs had failed to prove they had been targeted for NSA surveillance.
It comes three months after a separate case in New York, where judges ruled that the NSA programme was illegal. Judges in a separate case in New York in May ruled the programme illegal.
The agency's spying was leaked by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who has since fled to Russia. It is not clear what the latest ruling means, as Congress has since passed legislation phasing out the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' records.
The NSA has collected data about numbers called and times, but not the content of conversations. It also allegedly spied on European firms, as well as high-profile individuals including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The agency's spying was revealed in 2013 by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who has since fled to Russia.
It collected data about numbers called and times, but not the content of conversations. It also allegedly spied on European firms, as well as high-profile individuals including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The ruling on Friday in the District of Columbia reversed a preliminary ruling in 2013 by a lower court which said the NSA programme was "probably unconstitutional and almost Orwellian".The ruling on Friday in the District of Columbia reversed a preliminary ruling in 2013 by a lower court which said the NSA programme was "probably unconstitutional and almost Orwellian".
But judges said the case should not continue because the people that brought the case - activist Larry Klayman and the parents of an NSA employee killed in Afghanistan - fell "short of meeting the higher burden of proof required for a preliminary injunction".But judges said the case should not continue because the people that brought the case - activist Larry Klayman and the parents of an NSA employee killed in Afghanistan - fell "short of meeting the higher burden of proof required for a preliminary injunction".
It is not immediately clear what the decision means for NSA surveillance, as Congress in June passed legislation aimed at scaling back the programme in the coming months and ending bulk collection of Americans' records. Congress in June passed legislation aimed at scaling back the programme in the coming months and ending bulk collection of Americans' records.
Bulk data collection rulingsBulk data collection rulings
The new measures are not due to take effect until December.The new measures are not due to take effect until December.
The new law requires telecoms companies to store data, instead of US intelligence agencies, and to hand over any information in response to a government request approved by a secret counter-terror court.The new law requires telecoms companies to store data, instead of US intelligence agencies, and to hand over any information in response to a government request approved by a secret counter-terror court.
The Snowden revelations in June 2013 caused an international outcry, despite US administrations insisting the programme had been fully authorised.The Snowden revelations in June 2013 caused an international outcry, despite US administrations insisting the programme had been fully authorised.