Did you know the massive NSA phone data collection operation will cease this Saturday at midnight? Do you actually believe this?

MSgt Curtis Ellis — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 23:25:20 -0500

The federal government's collection of bulk data from the telephone calls of virtually every American will stop at midnight Saturday, ending a raging controversy that began with disclosures about the secret program by Edward Snowden.

Beginning Sunday, if the government wants to check on a specific phone number in a potential terrorism case, a request must be made to the relevant telephone company for a check of its own data. The government will no longer retain the information.

President Obama said in January that the bulk data collection would end, and Congress in June formally banned it but allowed for a six-month transition period that ends Saturday.

Under the program, the government collected information about calls made, including their duration and the phone numbers involved. But the content of the calls was not monitored, recorded, or collected.

A statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence defended the revised program.

"There is still a need to be able to identify communications between terrorists abroad and individuals with whom they are in contact in the United States," the statement said.

Under the revision, the government will present a specific phone number or cell phone identifier to the phone companies to seek the relevant call data. Except in emergencies, the records can be obtained only with an individual order from a special federal intelligence court.

For now, the National Security Agency, which ran the massive government data collection program, will retain access to the data it collected before the program was ended.

The NSA says it will check that database only to test the new program and to conform to court orders in civil cases challenging the program's constitutionality.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/massive-nsa-phone-data-collection-cease-n470521

Massive NSA Phone Data Collection to Cease

Beginning Sunday, if the government wants to check on a phone number in a potential terrorism case, a request must be made to the phone company.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 27 at 2015 11:33 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 23:33:17 -0500

I am sure that there are few programs left for them to use "in case of".. It wouldn't be the first time.
Better be safe than sorry, right?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 27 at 2015 11:56 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 23:56:19 -0500

Yeah, right.
Sure it will.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 28 at 2015 12:56 AM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 00:56:54 -0500

I think it will just be buried a little deeper.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 28 at 2015 7:31 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 07:31:29 -0500

If it were truly to cease, I am certain that another more intrusive program would take it's place.

Response by MAJ Bryan Zeski made Nov 28 at 2015 8:04 AM

MAJ Bryan Zeski — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 08:04:31 -0500

Just to be clear - they're stopping a program that was never legal to begin with on Saturday. A program that no one would know anything about unless a whistleblower came out, against his own best interests, and disclosed it to the public at great risk to his own life and liberty. So now, the whistleblower has to seek asylum from the United States overseas and the NSA finally "stops" the program. Meanwhile, the whistleblower is still wanted and the NSA goes back to the dark where it keeps doing everything it did before - except now it watches its own employees that much more.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Nov 28 at 2015 8:49 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 08:49:24 -0500

This will last until the next NBC attack on our nation.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Nov 28 at 2015 11:57 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 11:57:37 -0500

I'm still not quite sure what the hell was going on. Phone companies already collect data on every call. Originating number. Called number. Duration. It's used for billing purposes. It seems that this is the same "meta data" that NSA claims it was collecting. Why? All it had to do was ask the phone company which is what law enforcement agencies do after securing a court order. They can even retrieve the content of text messages.

I have heard some speculate that they were also recording the content of voice calls. Really? Does anyone know for sure? Can you imagine the storage requirements for collecting all that? Yes, software could be developed to scan for key words and phrases that might lead to terrorist or other criminal activities. Now, if that scanning were to occur only on specific conversations with a court order, would that be so bad? Actually, I don't see a problem with it. However, the risk of taking a "peek" without first securing a court order might be just too much, don't you think?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 28 at 2015 7:25 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 19:25:13 -0500

Some people don't realize that security and privacy are polar opposites.

Response by Erdal Salur (1N7X1 Human Intelligence Specialist made Nov 29 at 2015 4:16 AM

Erdal Salur (1N7X1 Human Intelligence Specialist — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 04:16:14 -0500

game within the game

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Nov 29 at 2015 11:11 AM

SGT Patrick Reno — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 11:11:04 -0500

Yes, if our Government say's it it's true than it must be. I can't belive any of you would think our Government would lie to us.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Nov 29 at 2015 10:18 PM

PO1 John Miller — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 22:18:58 -0500

Not good enough for me. If I had my way, the NSA would have to get a warrant each and every time they want to search an individual phone number, even in "cases of emergency" and they would also have to destroy all currently held data that does not have a valid warrant justifying it being held in the first place.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 3 at 2015 2:55 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:55:52 -0500

You all may not realize it, but many of your brothers and sisters in arms are assigned to NSA during their careers. Many of them also retire and go to work at NSA and many of them are in senior positions there. I retired from NSA in 2010 as a GS-15 equivalent, after a 22-year Army career.

I can tell you that NSA is very strict about following the laws and guidance from its legal counsel. This whole phone program issue was vetted at the highest levels of the government - the Attorney General, the President, the Pentagon's DoD General Counsel, the NSA General Counsel, and all the leadership in between before it was ever put into place. They believed it was the right thing to do. There were many who disagreed and a very spirited debate was had over the program throughout all those levels I mentioned before. In the end, the decision was made, and NSA followed orders as part of the DoD, just like we all do.

You can also be assured the only thing NSA held was metadata. We did not hold any recorded phone conversations, e-mails, or anything like that. We never intentionally listened to or recorded U.S. citizens, including foreign green-card holders on U.S. soil, except under very limited, strict circumstances already approved by the Attorney General - rules that have been in place for many years. When we did hear Americans accidentally, we had to delete the recordings and report it through our channels to the Attorney General, I believe.

The people at NSA are Patriots, just like the people I served with in the military. They care deeply about our nation and our freedom. Of course, as we all know, there is always someone who will cause problems for everyone else, but those are kept to a minimum at NSA through a very strict security screening program. So don't be hating on NSA too much - they're just more American Patriots, just like the rest of us, trying to do their part of the mission the best way they know how.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 11 at 2015 2:38 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 02:38:47 -0500

With the way things are and work, there is nothing we can do to influence and change it.... Let them conduct their operations, they might catch a culprit or two....

Response by Erdal Salur (1N7X1 Human Intelligence Specialist made Feb 29 at 2016 12:30 PM

Erdal Salur (1N7X1 Human Intelligence Specialist — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 12:30:18 -0500

in my opinion states,
I think the state of the external and internal threats,
defensive reflexes have to be