© Mark Werker
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Judge Reggie Walton said the government hadn't shown a strong enough need to keep the data, especially given the privacy concerns raised by such a move.
"The amended procedures would further infringe on the privacy interests of United States persons whose telephone records were acquired in vast numbers and retained by the government to aid in national security investigations," Walton wrote in a 12-page order posted here. "The government seeks to retain these records, not for national security reasons, but because some of them may be relevant in civil litigation in which the destruction of those very same records is being requested. However, the civil plaintiffs potentially interested in preserving the...metadata have expressed no desire to acquire the records."
"This Court is reluctant to take any action that could impede the proper adjudication of the identified civil suits, and understands why the government would proceed with caution in connection with records potentially relevant to those matters," Walton continued. "However, the Court cannot make the finding required to grant the motion based on the record before it."
Last month, the Justice Department made the request to keep the data indefinitely. A spokesman for the department had no immediate comment Friday.
We're sorry, but the number you have reached has been moved, along with the metadata, to a place we are reluctant to disclose at this time. Will you please hang up and try again next year.