A California federal judge ordered the National Security Agency (NSA) to pause plans to destroy millions of phone records until at least March 19.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an internet privacy group, asked the judge for a temporary restraining order that would protect potential evidence in privacy lawsuits against the NSA, according to Bloomberg News.
The ruling follows a decision earlier this month by the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which stated that the NSA has to destroy all phone data five years after its collection date. In that case, the judge determined that the indefinite holding of phone data would further “infringe on the privacy interest of the United States persons.”
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White will hold a hearing on March 19 to determine whether the records will be kept.
