The National Security Agency has recommended the White House end a surveillance program that collects data on domestic phone calls and text messages in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reports. The once-secret program was created after the September 11th, 2001, attacks, and has faced criticism for violating Americans’ personal privacy ever since former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden leaked the existence of the program nearly six years ago. The NSA now argues that the logistical and legal burdens of keeping it outweigh its intelligence benefits, according to sources cited by the Journal. The NSA was forced to halt use of the program earlier this year over frustrations with legal-compliance, and the program will expire in December unless Congress reauthorizes it.
