From 'Morning Edition': NPR's Dina Temple-Raston on the collection of phone records
Until now, it was thought that such orders had almost always been tied to the collection of phone records related to a specific person or target. But Dina says the order uncovered Wednesday (first by The Guardian) has given the NSA "blanket authority to pick up telephone and data business records either in the U.S. between two U.S. numbers of between a U.S. and a foreign [number]."
As we reported late Wednesday, the order, granted on April 25, gives the government the power to obtain the information for a three-month period that ends July 19. The NSA collects the data for the FBI. It is not known if similar orders have been issued that allow the collection of such data from other phone companies.
The NSA and FBI are not getting information about the content of conversations. But they are collecting data such as phone numbers, the location of calls, their duration and other key information.
