The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit court on Friday reversed the December 2013 ruling against the National Security Agency's controversial phone surveillance program, according to The Wall Street Journal. The program has changed since the December 2013 ruling, so the appeals court found that this decision is now moot.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the data collection politics of the NSA were unconstitutional in 2013, referring to it as "almost Orwellian." That decision was reversed Friday becase the NSA has changed its policy. However, the case brought against the NSA, which claims that its surveillance practices violate the Fourth Amendment, has not been dismissed. The case brought by Larry Klayman against the NSA will now go back to the U.S. District Court. The lawsuit against the agency will be ruled upon a second time by Judge Richard Leon, Reuters reported.
The matter of whether or not the NSA violates constitutional rights by collecting phone data is still ultimately undecided. The appeals court ruled that since the NSA's data collection program has been amended, the injunction applied by the District Court no longer applies, according to CNBC. Now, the lawsuit will be heard again in court so the judge can decide whether or not the NSA is breaking the law.
