Washington Post: NSA Records Locations Of Cell Phones Worldwide
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Could the government be tracking your every move? A shocking new report by the Washington Post reveals the NSA is recording the locations of cell phones around the world--gathering nearly five billion records a day!
Meghan McCorkell has more on the controversial program.
NSA officials say they are not purposefully tracking Americans in the U.S. but some experts believe it's a serious violation of privacy.
Tracking the location of cell phone users around the world: The NSA program is the latest bombshell leaked in top-secret documents by former government contractor Edward Snowden.
According to the Washington Post, the NSA is tapping into cell phone networks. Even when you're not using it, every cell phone emits signals to nearby cell phone towers, giving your location. The NSA logs five billion of those records a day.
"It's you, it's me, it's everybody being followed. There's no privacy," said Dr. Michael Greenberger.
A leading counterterrorism expert, Greenberger says collecting this data is not helping keep the country safe and could be dangerous.
"If the government gets in the hands of the wrong people, this stuff can be used in a very damaging way. This is what the Nazis would love to have had this kind of surveillance," Greenberger said.
Several lawmakers, including Senator Barbara Mikulski, are proposing an amendment that would require intelligence agencies to report whether they're collecting cell phone tracking data on average Americans.
But Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger defends the surveillance programs.
"There's not one incident that I know of that there has been a person intentionally trying to listen or look at anyone's phone calls or emails," he told WJZ last month. "Not one."
NSA officials contend the program is legal and only used to get information on foreign targets.
NSA officials tell the Post location data on Americans is acquired incidentally as the agency monitors global cell phone systems.
NSA leaker Edward Snowden--a former Howard County resident--has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.
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