NSA Records 5 Billion Global Mobile Phone Locations Daily

The US National Security Agency (NSA) is tracking the location of mobile phones globally in a project that creates nearly 5 billion records every day.

The agency’s vast database covers “at least hundreds of millions of devices” reports The Washington Post, allowing the authorities to “find cellphones anywhere in the world, retrace their movements and expose hidden relationships among the people using them.”

The NSA says it collects the data “incidentally” – a legal term that refers to a “foreseeable but not deliberate result” – but the agency’s activities have been decried by privacy groups.

“It is staggering that a location-tracking program on this scale could be implemented without any public debate,” said the American Civil Liberties Union in a statement.

“The dragnet surveillance of hundreds of millions of cell phones flouts our international obligation to respect the privacy of foreigners and Americans alike.”

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http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/nsa-records-5-billion-global-mobile-phone-locations-daily-8986425.html