The US Senate passed the USA Freedom Act several days after key regulations of the USA Patriot Act were to expire. The Freedom Act is said to be a reform of the unconstitutional and recently-ruled illegal bulk collection of Americans' telecommunications. As a matter of fact, the USA Freedom Act takes attacks on civil liberties in the United States to a whole new level.
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1) The recent decision of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the bulk collection of American citizens' telecommunications information was not authorized by the USA PATRIOT Act means that as of this afternoon, the bulk collection of American citizens' telecommunications information was an illegal act. The government was breaking the law each time it grabbed our metadata. The moment the FREEDOM is signed by President Obama that same activity will become legal. How is making an unconstitutional and illegal act into a legal one a benefit to civil liberties?
2) The FREEDOM Act turns private telecommunications companies into agents of state security. They will be required to store our personal information and hand it over to state security organs upon demand. How do we know this development is a step in the wrong direction? It is reportedly the brainchild of Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the NSA director at the time! According to press reports, this was but a public relations move to deflect criticism of the bulk collection program. Alexander "saw the move as a way for Obama to respond to public criticism without losing programs the NSA deemed more essential," reports Homeland Security News.
The FREEDOM Act turns private telecommunications companies into depositories of "pre-crime" data for future use of state security agencies. It is a classic authoritarian move for the state to co-opt and subsume the private sector. Once the FREEDOM Act is signed, Americans' telecommunications information will be retained by the telecommunications companies for the use of state security agencies in potential future investigations. In other words, an individual under no suspicion of any crime and thus deserving full Fourth and Fifth Amendment protection will nevertheless find himself providing evidence against his future self should that person ever fall under suspicion. That is not jurisprudence in a free society.
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