A newly released Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court document offers the most extensive public explanation for why the court allowed the government to keep records of all U.S. citizens’ phone calls, The New York Times reports. The previously classified 29-page opinion said the program was constitutional and did not violate privacy rights because of a provision in the USA PATRIOT Act. Additionally, the opinion indicates, none of the phone companies who handed over data ever challenged the NSA’s requests for such data. Meanwhile, LinkedIn has filed an amicus brief in federal court over the government’s disclosure of National Security Letter requests for private data. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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