A New York district court has opined that the government's bulk collection of telephone data may be legal and does not in any way violate the U.S. Constitution. The court's decision has stoked the fire as it contradicts th stand taken by a court in Washington.
The case in New York was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the court had opined in favor of the National Security Agency (NSA), which has found itself in hot water following leak of classified information by Edward Snowden, who alleged that the agency snooped on millions of people in the U.S. and around the world. On the other hand, a Washington court presiding over a similar case, had said that the bulk collection program ran by the NSA might have been unconstitutional. The court said the program was "indiscriminate" and "arbitrary invasion" of privacy and "almost Orwellian" in nature.
The New York court hearing the case is being presided over by Judge William Pauley, who was appointed by Bill Clinton back when he was the U.S. president.
According to the new ruling, the U.S. Constitution protects an individual's right to privacy through the Fourth Amendment. However, Pauley says that the need to protect personal privacy should also be weighed against the federal government's capacity to protect its citizens via efficient intelligence gathering. The judge argues that while personal privacy is a basic and important right, it is also not absolute.
Pauley questions whether telephony metadata should be covered by the Fourth Amendment and says that due to the nature of previous al-Qaida attacks on American soil, the government should have the ability to gather intelligence about possible terrorist attacks and if needed, be able to push the bounds of personal privacy while still adhering to the spirit of the U.S. Constitution.
Pauley's pro-NSA findings provides a valuable precedent for the NSA, CIA and other similar agencies who are pushing for official approval of their intelligence gathering activities.
Due to the contradictory rulings, the case may very well escalate to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, President Barack Obama may also settle the matter if he chooses to abide by the recommendations of a White House review panel. If Obama decides to side with the White House review panel, the NSA may be permanently banned from running similar surveillance programs in the future.
