Tom Paine Lives
A federal appeals court has ruled that the government's program to keep track of the phone calls of millions of American citizens is illegal. The judgement targets the of mass collection of phone records that exiled NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the public two years ago. Now Congress will have to decide whether it wants to replace the practice or end it entirely.The 2nd court of appeals made their case clear. Writing for a panel of three judges, Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch stated that Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which addresses the FBI's ability to gather business records, could not be interpreted to have permitted the NSA to collect a "staggering" amount of phone records, contrary to claims by the Bush and Obama administrations.
"Such expansive development of government repositories of formerly private records would be an unprecedented contraction of the privacy expectations of all Americans," Lynch wrote in a 97-page decision. "We would expect such a momentous decision to be preceded by substantial debate, and expressed in unmistakable language. There is no evidence of such a debate."
The ruling reminds us of how easy it was in the wake of 9/11 for the nation's leaders to silently justify a program of surrender of fundamental rights. The decision is a victory for Snowden, for the American people and for whistleblowers everywhere.
"Such expansive development of government repositories of formerly private records would be an unprecedented contraction of the privacy expectations of all Americans," Lynch wrote in a 97-page decision. "We would expect such a momentous decision to be preceded by substantial debate, and expressed in unmistakable language. There is no evidence of such a debate."
The ruling reminds us of how easy it was in the wake of 9/11 for the nation's leaders to silently justify a program of surrender of fundamental rights. The decision is a victory for Snowden, for the American people and for whistleblowers everywhere.
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