Court says it’s legal for NSA to spy on you because Congress says it’s OK

In May, a federal appeals court declared the National Security Agency's bulk telephone metadata collection program illegal because it wasn't authorized under the Patriot Act, as the Obama Administration and its predecessor administration had maintained. Then, in June, Congress semi-dismantled the program with the passage of the USA Freedom Act, which President Obama signed on June 2. As part of the new act, Congress authorized a spying transition period of sorts where the old tactics could continue until new laws were in place. But on Oct 29, the same federal appeals court that originally declared it "illegal" now said the original NSA program could continue, beating back a challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union that questioned both the transition period and the constitutionality of NSA surveillance overall.

So how could something so seemingly unconstitutional continue? Congress said it could, that's how. With the passage of the USA Freedom Act, Congress extended the program that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed for another six months to allow for an orderly transition to the new snooping program. And now the courts essentially maintain that the original surveillance is legal because Congress says it's legal.