In addition, an N.S.A. training slide previously disclosed by Mr. Snowden directed the agency's eavesdroppers to collect Internet messages from two sources: "collection of communications on fiber cables and infrastructure as data flows past" and Prism, an N.S.A. program that gathers information from major Internet companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and Skype.
British government officials say that the prime minister's plan to provide a fresh legal framework for the collection of communications data – such as billing information – and the interception of the contents of communications can only work with the co-operation of internet giants that are largely based in the US.
Some of Anderson's other proposals appeared to muddy the waters a little between the bulk collection of communications data with or without a judicial warrant.
A senior administration official said in a statement: "The Guardian and Washington Post articles refer to collection of communications pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The agency draws a distinction between the bulk collection of communications and the use of that data to monitor or find specific targets.
I celebrate Judge Richard J Leon's opinion that the government's mass collection of communications metadata is "almost Orwellian", and I decry Judge William H Pauley III's decision that the NSA's collection is both effective and legally perfectly peachy.
These are for use in remote areas in applications such as navigational aids, data collection and communications systems, and cathodic protection, which prevents electrolysis from corroding metallic pipelines and marine structures.
The collection of communications logs — or calling "metadata" — is believed to be a major component of the Bush administration's program of surveillance that took place without court orders.
With a large enough collection of communications metadata, the N.S.A. can analyze networks and associations between people, identify patterns of interaction and behavior, and possibly spot threats before they happen.
William Binney, a former technical director of the US National Security Agency NSAA), told parliamentarians that the plans for bulk collection of communications data tracking everyone's internet and phone use are "99% useless" because they would swamp intelligence analysts with too much data.
