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Anti-NSA Snooping Bill Filed in Minnesota

© Flickr / nolifebeforecoffee & @TheRealBanksyWhat are you looking at? NSA
What are you looking at? NSA - Sputnik International
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If you're planning on spying on someone in the Land of a Thousand Lakes, a local legislator has something to say about that: not gonna happen.

© Flickr / Fibonacci BlueAn anti-NSA spying activist protests Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minneapolis. Klobuchar, who represents Minnesota, defended the NSA's collection of millions of phone records arguing they were not eavesdropping.
An anti-NSA spying activist protests Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minneapolis. Klobuchar, who represents Minnesota, defended the NSA's collection of millions of phone records arguing they were not eavesdropping. - Sputnik International
An anti-NSA spying activist protests Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minneapolis. Klobuchar, who represents Minnesota, defended the NSA's collection of millions of phone records arguing they were not eavesdropping.
Minnesota state Senator Branden Petersen says state and local authorities wouldn't cooperate if the feds come looking for personal information about state residents if a bill he filed becomes law. Petersen says his legislation is part of an effort to stop the government from snooping into the lives of Americans.

“It seems like we’re always addressing issues after the fact when it comes to certain government technologies and methodologies,” Petersen was quoted in local press. “It does make more sense to simply address it in a more universal way so that explicitly the protections of the Fourth Amendment are extended to electronic data.”

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden caused a furor two years ago when he revealed the ultra-secret spy agency was collecting information on millions of Americans without a warrant, and that included tracking information via cellphones. Congress so far hasn't been able to agree to specific legislation addressing warrantless gathering of information, and President Obama recently reauthorized it, saying it's on Congress to come up with a solution.

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The NSA shares warrantless data with state and local law enforcement agencies through the little-known Special Operations Division at the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, but a Reuters report last year found that most of information had nothing to do with national security issues. Former NSA technology chief William Binney has called this method of gathering information "too much power" and "the most threatening situation to our constitutional republic since the Civil War."

Petersen's legislation says that "a government agency may not obtain personal identifying information concerning an individual without a search warrant," and that the court order would only be granted if there is "probable cause" that the person has or is committing a crime.

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The bill also prohibits state government offices from forcing cellphone and other communications providers to cooperate with federal agencies if there's no warrant. The legislation says the warrant would expire after two months.

Most importantly, Petersen's bill would make any information obtained without a warrant completely inadmissible in state court. That means NSA's program wouldn't fly in Minnesota if that bill becomes law. Petersen is currently lobbying colleagues to co-sponsor the bill and move it along the legislative process.

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