Judge Rules N.S.A. Phone Surveillance Is Lawful in Case Filed by A.C.L.U.

[reACTIONary]

59. There are various laws and regulations prohibiting and restricting...

...what telecoms may and may not do with the business records and other information they collect about their customers and their activities.

Here is some summary information: https://www.cdt.org/privacy/guide/protect/laws.php

This is done under the government's power to regulate commerce, and does not, strictly speaking, fall under the fourth amendment. It isn't constitutional / fundamental law, it is positive law enacted by congress like any other law regulating consumer affairs.

This goes back to the Communications Act of 1934. The act of 1934 was amended by the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986), Telecommunications Act (1996) Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI).

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986) (ECPA) specifically responded to the Supreme Court's ruling in Smith v. Maryland (June 1979) that telephone toll records are not private and restricts law enforcement access to transactional information pertaining to users of electronic communication services.

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and Patriot Act of 2001 narrowed but did not eliminate the CCPA privacy provisions.

Section 551 and Section 222 cover the current privacy provisions, according to the Justice Dept.