5 Things You Need To Know About the USA Freedom Act

[Commentary] The Freedom Act adds a higher burden of proof for agencies seeking to place a U.S. citizen, group or company under surveillance. The updated legislation will no longer require private firms to retain data such as subscriber phone records and more clearly defines the rationale required to allow surveillance activities. Here are some of the bigger changes between the Patriot Act and the Freedom Act that Forrester sees -- and what you need to be aware of:

1. The Freedom Act repeals one of the most contentious provisions of the Patriot Act.
2. Metadata now falls under the stewardship of the telecommunication companies - and the Federal Communications Commission.
3. Roving wiretaps become simpler to obtain.
4. US tech companies now have recourse to contest government requests.
5. New legal counsel will now plead for civil liberties before the FISA court.

[Ed Ferrara is a principal analyst at Forrester Research]