WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Currently the NSA collects information about phone calls, including the time, duration and number called, in order to find terrorist threats.
“This court simply cannot, and will not, allow the government to trump the Constitution merely because it suits the exigencies of the moment,’’ US District Court Judge Richard Leon said in his decision, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal on Monday.
At the same time, the NSA program is expected to change significantly on November 29 and the decision of the court is expected to have a limited effect.
US activist Larry Klayman that filed a lawsuit hailed the Leon's decision and said he would continue his struggle against NSA, seeking compensation in money.
In 2013, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked some 1.7 million classified US government documents detailing widespread and illegal mass electronic surveillance programs conducted by NSA and other intelligence agencies.
