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.

奥巴马说，新规定既保护公民自由，也保障国家安全。

星期二早些时候，美国国会参议院以67票对32票的表决结果批准了这项法案。此前众议院已经批准了该法案。

依照新法案的规定，搜集和保存美国公民的电话通话记录由美国的电信公司负责，而高度机密的国家安全局不再担任这项任务。联邦调查人员如怀疑某人与已知或疑似恐怖分子进行接触，必须得到法院命令，才能审查电话记录。

纽约和华盛顿2011年9月11日遭受恐怖袭击后，美国政府开始搜集电话号码、拨打日期和通话时长，但不包括通话内容。

批评人士说，大量搜集与恐怖主义没有关系的美国人的电话信息是侵犯隐私权。
美国政府监听电话的授权于本周期满失效。这项新法案是妥协的结果。一些民主党和共和党议员认为，新规定的安全性较差，联邦有关当局将失去一个应对恐怖主义的主要手段。