The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of Pending Congressional Surveillance Bills

On June 1 the legal authority enabling the National Security Agency’s bulk telephone metadata collection program expires. The expiration date of Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act comes two years after NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the spying to the Guardian.

Ahead of the deadline, three key bills have emerged. They can best be described as the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

One proposal scuttles the bulk metadata program altogether. Another bill tinkers with the snooping. Yet another allows it to continue unabated though 2020.