Why the New NSA Restrictions Won’t Harm National Security

The National Security Agency lost its authority to grab the phone records of millions of Americans following recent change in legislation enacted after 9/11. But there is no evidence that the data produced actionable intelligence during the 13 years the government had access to it anyway. And besides, the NSA is still expanding its arsenal of Internet surveillance tools on American soil.

The Obama Administration is allowing the NSA to tap Internet cables in US territory to look for data about computer intrusions that are coming from overseas, and that the agency does not need a warrant to do so. A report by the White House privacy and civil liberties oversight board, known as PCLOB, concluded that the value of the data collection -- which started after the September 11 terrorist attacks -- was mainly to add insight on the activities of terrorists already known to the government. Such insight could also be gained by using court orders to obtain the information. The bulk data collection did not lead to the discovery of a previously unknown terrorist or disruption of an attack, the report concluded.