General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: BREAKING: Federal judge rules NSA data gathering on all US telephone calls is unconstitutional [View all]randome
(34,845 posts)Carl Bernstein said it looked to him as if the NSA has strong protections in place to prevent abuse of the metadata.
The reason for having this information in one place is two-fold:
1. In the event of a terrorist attack -or even just an investigation- the NSA does not need to go to every single telecom in the country to search out suspects' contacts. A process that would be the next best thing to impossible.
2. After the fact of an attack, they can query the metadata to learn other co-conspirators.
It's the same type of investigatory process that takes place after a crime except it's being done in the Information Age, when data is ridiculously easy to copy and disseminate.
The NSA is forbidden by law from spying on Americans unless an American is in contact with a foreign suspect.
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