Firstly, read the ruling and the opinion that clearly states that when a caller dials a number and that call is routed to a third party (Verizon, ATT, Sprint, etc) switching center, there is no expectation of privacy in the calling party's number, dialed number, date of call, and time of call. I believe that Obama called this information "metadata". Secondly, we're talking data;
NOT CONTENT (e.g. evesdropping, wiretapping, etc) which the Court has REPEATEDLY upheld that the 4th Amendment most definitely applies and therefore a warrant is required for collection and processing.
From the Smith v Maryland SCOTUS ruling footnotes:
"A pen register is
a mechanical device that records the numbers dialed on a telephone by monitoring the electrical impulses caused when the dial on the telephone is released. It does not overhear oral communications and does not indicate whether calls are actually completed." United States v. New York Tel. Co.,
434 U.S. 159, 161 n. 1 (1977). A pen register is "usually installed at a central telephone facility [and] records on a paper tape all numbers dialed from [the] line" to which it is attached. United States v. Giordano,
416 U.S. 505, 549 n. 1 (1974) (opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part). See also United States v. New York Tel. Co.,
434 U.S., at 162 ."
The purpose of a pen register in Smith v Maryland is to detect fraud, abuse, harassment, etc. In my opinion, that's no different that how spammers collect DATA in address harvesting and dictionary attacks, both illegal as outlined in CAN SPAM act of 2003.
Where does press reporting say that "everything" has been collected and stored for future retrieval and analysis?
If this program is so outrageous, then WE really have problems. The program is "run" by the Executive branch (IC agencies), provisions established by the Judicial branch (FISC), and overseen by the Legislative branch (SSCI and HPSCI).
