FISA judge: Snowden leaks triggered important debate Federal judge orders government review for declassification orders enabling hoarding of communications data

In a significant ruling Friday, federal Judge Dennis Saylor ordered that the government review for declassifications rulings that, under the auspices of the Patriot Act, enable the mass hoarding of communications data in NSA dragnets.

The ruling, in favor of plaintiffs led by the ACLU, states that the civil liberties groups had a right to seek disclosure of the FISA court's interpretations of section 215 of the Patriot Act.

Advertisement:

In the wake of the Guardian's unauthorized disclosure (based on Snowden's leaks) of the section 215 order that demanded Verizon hand over to the NSA the metadata of all its customers' calls, the judge ruled more such section 215 orders should be declassified. Via the Guardian: