www.astralcodexten.com/p/all-lawful-use-much-more-than-you

In context, “the program” refers back to the Bush-era warrantless dragnet described immediately prior: “warrantless mass collection of internet metadata and telephone call records.” Those were not ended as a single unit by the USA FREEDOM Act. **What the USA FREEDOM Act did (and did not) do:** - ODNI’s implementation fact sheet explains that the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 directed that the U.S. government would “no longer collect telephony metadata records in bulk under Section 215,” with the bulk telephony program ending in late 2015. This is specifically about **bulk telephony metadata under Section 215**, not the earlier Internet metadata dragnet or other intelligence authorities. - Congress’s own committee report language on the USA FREEDOM Act similarly makes clear that its decision to end bulk telephone metadata collection “does not extend to any other intelligence programs currently conducted under FISA,” such as Section 702. **The Internet metadata dragnet ended earlier:** - Reporting based on NSA/IG materials and public statements by NSA leadership describes the **Internet metadata program as being terminated in 2011**—well before the USA FREEDOM Act passed in 2015. Because a major component of what the post calls “the program” (the Internet metadata dragnet) ended in 2011, it is inaccurate to say Congress “finally” ended “the program” by passing the USA FREEDOM Act.