The NSA Director Admits That The NSA Tested U.S. Cellphone Tracking

General Keith Alexander, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and chief of the Central Security Service (CSS), testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Cybersecurity: Preparing for and Responding to the Enduring Threat, on Capitol Hill in Washington June 12, 2013. REUTERS-Yuri Gripas

In Test Project, N.S.A. Tracked Cellphone Locations -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency conducted a secret pilot project in 2010 and 2011 to test the collection of bulk data about the location of Americans’ cellphones, but the agency never moved ahead with such a program, according to intelligence officials.

The existence of the pilot project was reported on Wednesday morning by The New York Times and later confirmed by James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. The project used data from cellphone towers to locate people’s cellphones.

In his testimony, Mr. Clapper revealed few details about the project. He said that the N.S.A. does not currently collect locational information under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the provision the government says is the legal basis for the N.S.A.’s once-secret program under which it collects logs of all domestic calls from telephone companies.

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More News On The NSA Director's Admission That The NSA Tested U.S. Cellphone Tracking

The NSA Collected Location Data on Americans — and May Do It Again -- The Atlantic
NSA chief says agency tested tracking US cellphone locations, but leaves that to FBI -- FOX News/AP
NSA had test project to collect data on Americans’ cellphone locations, director says -- Washington Post
NSA tracked Americans cellphone GPS data -- UPI
NSA chief admits agency tracked US cellphone locations in secret tests -- The Guardian
NSA chief says agency does not track US social media, but did test tracking US cellphones -- Washington Post/AP
NSA Tried Tracking Movements With Phone Data, Chief Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
NSA chief admits govt collected cellphone location data -- RT
NSA doesn’t want your mobile location data–yet -- MSNBC
NSA Finally Admits to Tracking Americans' Cellphones in "Pilot" Project -- Slate
Yes, the NSA can find you through your cellphone -- Salon
NSA ran secret test on tracking Americans' cell phones -- CNet