WASHINGTON — Sen. Al Franken said he wants to learn more about the news Thursday that the federal government has a program in place to cull Americans’ cell phone records from providers.

Franken, the chairman of the Senate’s Privacy, Technology and the Law Subcommittee, said he’d learned about “programs like this one” through classified briefings before, but he still had questions about the National Security Agency’s practice of requesting records from cellular companies like Verizon.

“We have to see what safeguards there are and how this program is structured, and how this data is used and whether it’s stored, for example,” he said.

On Thursday, the UK’s Guardian reported on a secret April court order requiring Verizon to turn over the “metadata” associated with its users’ cell phone calls: where the user was, who they were talking to, how long the conversation lasted, etc.

Even as privacy advocates demanded more information on the order, the White House defended the program as critical to U.S. counterterrorism operations, and lawmakers in both parties said the same.

The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee went as far as to say such data was used to prevent a case of domestic terrorism in the United States within the last few years.

Franken was on the way to an intelligence briefing on Thursday afternoon. He said the matter “may very well be” a future topic for his privacy subcommittee to consider.

“I want to learn a lot more about it,” he said. “I’d like the administration to be as transparent as absolutely possible.”

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry

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3 Comments

  1. Not a slap on the wrist, but a hankshake?

    The heart of justice becomes the heart of darkness as Privacy is sacrificed – auctioned off to the highest corporate bidder?

    This is a time when ‘whistle blower’ is no longer considered a positive label in government circles and Constitutional advocates and investigative journalists are left dumpster diving behind Homeland Security and its attendant agencies seeking to revive some form of shredded justice buried among the coffee grounds and orange peels?

    Entrails of the Bush era still alive and kicking; come back to haunt us with fear and terror censoring the Right of Privacy?

    No apology by the state…not even a slap on the wrist but a handshake as the Constitution is assaulted by the ‘new terrorism’ and the heart of justice becomes the heart of darkness for any American citizen?

  2. Future Federal foibles possible?

    Remember the friendly Maytag Repair Man essentially advertising a washer that never breaks down? Became a legend almost? Those were the days ,eh?

    Call your friendly repair man today for washer or let’s say, computer problems and being digitally-challenged in so many ways plus it’s late and you’ve got a project with a deadline and you’re in desperate need to solve the ‘disfunctionality’ of your digital god? Call a number and an overseas voice from the Philippines or India etc is at your service.

    Not just one call solves the problem so you rake up a series of calls from India, Philippines, wherever; trying to get those contingent problems resolved.

    Knock, knock. Who’s there?

    My question of PRISM experts…how many overseas calls get you on surveillance lists?

    This is serious business indeed but there are all kinds of foibles in such a simplistic system to out terrorists among us..but then again neither will Homeland Security in black dress shoes or jackboots be deterred by bubblegum on your doorstep?

    My question…is this is the beginning of something-not-so-great?

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