US Sen. warns of govt. spying program

US Senator Ron Wyden warned American citizens that their smartphone use, text messages, Web surfing and phone calls can be logged by the government.

“I can’t get into the details of any specific operation, or whether it’s being conducted, but … having that computer in your pocket increases the potential that certainly people could be tracked 24/7,” Wyden told the C-SPAN program “Newsmakers” on Sunday.

“Under the Patriot Act, the government’s authority to collect is essentially limitless,” he said.

Weyden called for the overhaul of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and described the secret court as Å“just anachronistic”.

Å“Itâ„¢s the most one-sided legal process in the United States,” Wyden said. Å“I donâ„¢t know of any other legal system or court that really doesnâ„¢t highlight anything except one point of view.”

He also said that he would support legislative proposals that would lead to the overhaul of the court.

The senator has made such remarks before. Back in May 2011, he said, Å“I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry.”

His remarks came at the time when revelations by an American whistleblower about massive spying programs by the National Security Agency have provoked harsh criticism of the US government.

Edward Snowden last month disclosed that the NSA runs two major espionage programs. One is for gathering US phone records and the other, known as PRISM, is for tracking the use of US-based web serves by American citizens and other nationals.

AT/HJ