Trump administration seeks to reauthorise spying programme that records Americans' phone and text re

Source: Independent

Trump administration seeks to reauthorise spying programme that records Americans’ phone and text records
USA Freedom Act, which Edward Snowden revealed, allows the NSA to access private communications

Charlie Savage
1 hour ago

The Trump administration has broken its long silence on a high-profile National Security Agency programme that sifts records of Americans’ telephone calls and text messages in search of terrorists on Thursday.

They acknowledged for the first time that the system has been indefinitely shut down — but asked congress to extend its legal basis anyway.

In a letter to congress delivered on Thursday and obtained by The New York Times, the administration urged lawmakers to make the USA Freedom Act permanent, being the legal authority for the National Security Agency to gain access to logs of Americans’ domestic communications.

The law, enacted after the intelligence contractor Edward Snowden revealed the existence of the programme in 2013, is set to expire in December, but the Trump administration wants it made lasting.



Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-administration-spying-phone-text-records-usa-freedom-act-edward-snowden-a9062771.html