奥巴马签署法案,联邦机构不再搜集电话记录

U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill ending the government's massive collection of telephone call data intended to prevent terrorist attacks.

Mr. Obama said the new rules protect both civil liberties and national security.

Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill 67-32. The House of Representatives had previously approved it.

Under the new rules, U.S. telephone companies and not the super-secret National Security Agency will collect and hold on to the phone call records of American citizens. Federal investigators would then need a court order to examine those records if they suspect anyone of contacting known or suspected terrorists.

The government began keeping records of telephone numbers, but not the content of those calls, just after the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Critics said the program was a government invasion of privacy because of the millions of Americans whose calls were scrutinized, but who had no connection to terrorism.

The government's authority to spy on phone calls expired this week. The new rules are a compromise even though lawmakers from both parties say the new system will be less secure and takes a major tool in fighting terrorism away from federal authorities.