WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The NSA's bulk collection of the telephone records of United States citizens has been approved again by a federal court.

The program must be reapproved every 90 days to continue. The recent approval went a few days past its mark to line up with June 1, 2015 as the end of the new 90-day cycle. June 1 is when the program, under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, must be reauthorized or reformed by Congress, according to its written parameters.


If no action is taken by Congress, Section 215 will expire and bulk collection under it will end. However, many experts have pointed out how bulk collection programs could continue regardless of Section 215. Many of them have recommended a robust reform of the program, rather than just letting it expire.

This is the fifth time to program has been extended since President Obama claimed he would find a way to end bulk collection. The previously secret program was famously revealed to the public by Edward Snowden.