NPR

NSA To Limit Some Collection Of Internet Communication

The agency will scale back its collection of "about" data, messages that are not only traveling to and from a foreign target, but those that mention one.

The National Security Agency is scaling back the way it spies on some communications over the Internet. The NSA says it discovered what it called "lapses" in compliance with U.S. law. They're called "about" communications: The NSA not only watches messages traveling to and from a foreign target, but That can mean the NSA sometimes sweeps up data from Americans without a warrant. In the past, officials said the spy agency was still mindful of citizens' privacy. But now NSA says it has discovered "several inadvertent compliance lapses," which it reported to Congress and a secret court that oversees intelligence gathering. There aren't many more details, but the NSA now says it will, quote, "stop the practice to reduce the chance that it would acquire communications of U.S. persons or others who are not in direct contact with a foreign intelligence target."

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