Perspectives on Democracy and Governance in Africa

In June 2013, two classified National Security Agency (NSA) collection programs received increased media attention based on unauthorized disclosures of classified documents by a contractor working for the NSA. Under one program, the NSA collects domestic telephone metadata (i.e., call records) in bulk. Under the other program, implemented under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the government collects the contents of electronic communications, including telephone calls and emails, where the target is reasonably believed to be a non-U.S. person located outside the United States.