Eavesdropping Government Nsa Americans Eslpod Snooping U.S Legal

Normally, U.S. government agencies like the National Security Administration (NSA) must have a "warrant" (official permission to enter one's home or look for something) for "domestic" (within the United States) "spying" (trying to find secret information) activities. However, in 2005, the New York Times published an article about how "then-President" (the person who was President at that time) George W. Bush "authorized" (allowed; gave official permission) the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans. The NSA didn't have warrants or any other legal permission, but it started listening to Americans' telephone conversations and getting copies of their "phone records" (a written history of telephone calls one has made and received).

The government argued that the eavesdropping and other types of domestic spying were necessary to look for "evidence" (proof) of terrorist activity after the attacks on September 11, 2001. However, since the government's activities are secret, nobody knows how many conversations the NSA listened to, and whether they were limited to just "suspected" (thought to have done something wrong) terrorists.

Most Americans thought it was a "violation" (something that breaks a rule or law) of their "privacy" (one's right to have secrets or not share information). The Fourth "Amendment" (a section of text added to the U.S. Constitution, or America's most important legal document) protects Americans against "unreasonable" (not justified) searches. Many people think the eavesdropping was unreasonable, but the government argues that the eavesdropping was necessary to protect Americans from terrorists.

This has become known as the domestic spying "controversy" (something that people do not agree on, but have very strong opinions about).