ACLU: NSA change doesn't go far enough It would still permit some forms of large-scale surveillance.

Anthony D. Romero | USA TODAY

As the clock struck midnight Sunday, a seismic shift in our democracy occurred. For the first time in the post-9/11 era, innocent Americans could make phone calls without the government taking note.

Since the Patriot Act was passed, the government has been able to spy on every person in the USA without a warrant by looking at our call data. It could tell how often you talk to a doctor or whether you called a suicide hotline.

Thanks in large part to bipartisan resistance, and Sen. Rand Paul's principled objections to extending it, the section of the Patriot Act that the National Security Agency relied on to justify this bulk surveillance — Section 215 — expired Monday.

This is a huge milestone for the American people and the Constitution. In times of danger, governments often overreact. During World War II, we imprisoned Japanese Americans in internment camps. During the McCarthy era, thousands were blacklisted for supposed communist sympathies. The government's dragnet surveillance program was part of the overreaction to the horrific 9/11 attacks.

The expiration marks a swing of the pendulum back to a place where we can protect our national security without compromising our liberty and privacy. Now the Senate is considering the USA Freedom Act, which would rein in the NSA's bulk collection under Section 215 and other authorities. The bill, already approved by the House, would prohibit the NSA from storing those records — but it would still allow the government to access them from phone companies with a court order.

While this change is commendable, it doesn't go far enough. It would still permit some forms of large-scale surveillance, and it doesn't address many other authorities that allow the NSA to spy on us.

Our country needs a vast overhaul of our spy agencies' surveillance powers. Some in Congress will attempt to water down the USA Freedom Act. Our legislators should stand firm and push for more comprehensive reform.

Anthony D. Romero is executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.