U.S. Government Watchdog Says The NSA Phone Data Collection Program Is Illegal

An undated aerial handout photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland. Credit: Reuters/NSA/Handout via Reuters

U.S. Privacy Board Says NSA Phone Program Illegal, Should End: Reports -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records provides only minimal benefits to countering terrorism, is illegal and should end, a federal privacy watchdog said in a report to be released on Thursday, according to media reports.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent government agency, has shared its conclusions with President Barack Obama, according to reports in the New York Times and Washington Post. The board was not immediately available for comment.

Its conclusion goes further than Obama, who said in a speech on Friday that he thought the NSA's database of records should be moved out of government hands but did not call for an outright halt to the program.

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More News On The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Saying that The NSA Phone Data Collection Program Is Illegal And That It Should be Shut Down

Independent review board says NSA phone data program is illegal and should end -- Washington Post
NSA's mass phone data collection is illegal, says government privacy board -- The Guardian
NSA bulk collection of phone data is illegal and has only had 'minimal' benefits in preventing terrorism, independent U.S. privacy watchdog finds -- Daily Mail
Watchdog Report Says N.S.A. Program Is Illegal and Should End -- New York Times
Independent federal review board reportedly says NSA phone data collection program should end -- FOX News
US privacy watchdog advises NSA spying is illegal -- BBC
Independent Federal Agency: The Phone Dragnet Is Illegal, Shut It Down -- The Atlantic
Surveillance watchdog concludes metadata program is illegal, “should end” -- Ars Technica
Leaked US independent surveillance watchdog report concludes NSA program is illegal and recommends shut-down -- Boing Boing
Government watchdog calls NSA's call records collection illegal -- CNet
NSA's phone data collection program is illegal, says government watchdog -- The Verge
Review Board Splits on Whether NSA Phone Record Program Is Legal -- Mother Jones