Data on our data: 30 days to review taped phone calls
This month marks the first anniversary of the Edward Snowden leaks that changed our understanding of online privacy. Just like the subject matter of the leaks, the reporting over the last year has offered a deluge of information. So this week, we’re posting a short series about all that data. Every day we’ll bring you another number that reminds us how much we have learned in the last year about online surveillance and the reach of the NSA.
is how long the NSA can store phone conversations after recording
Through its SOMALGET program, the NSA records and store phone conversations in bulk. Agents can go back into those records and review them for up to 30 days.
This practice, and the ability for the government to do it, is something Nadia Kayali, an activist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says many find surprising. “I don’t think people think about their phone calls actually being recorded and then being maintained. Being maintained for 30 days? That is shocking.”
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