The federal government will no longer be able to collect data en masse from Americans’ phone calls starting Sunday, under a bill President Barack Obama signed into law earlier this year that limits the controversial collection of information known as metadata.
“Beginning Sunday, November 29, the government is prohibited from collecting telephone metadata records in bulk under Section 215, including of both U.S. and non-U.S. persons,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement Friday.
Metadata includes information such as phone numbers and the time of calls, but not that actual substance of the conversations.
NBC News’ Pete Williams reported on the new protocol for obtaining records:
Beginning Sunday, if the government wants to check on a specific phone number in a potential terrorism case, a request must be made to the relevant telephone company for a check of its own data. The government will no longer retain the information.
A could order is required to access the records.









