A Huge Victory on Mass Surveillance for Eric Snowden

It is the first serious reversal in almost four decades for the US intelligence agencies in terms of accumulation of power – and a huge victory for the whistleblower Edward Snowden. Last night at midnight the National Security Agency lost key powers, primarily the bulk collection of phone data. These powers expired for the mammoth surveillance agency because of miscalculations on the part of a complacent Republican leadership out of touch with the mood in America.
Later this week Congress as a whole is expected to pass legislation – a USA Freedom Act – that will enshrine some of these changes, most importantly the end to the collection of the phone records of millions of Americans, first disclosed in the Guardian almost exactly two years ago in documents leaked by Snowden.