The U.S. National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records provides only minimal benefits to countering terrorism, is illegal and should end, a federal privacy watchdog said in a report released on Thursday.
The watchdog's report could further complicate efforts by both President Barack Obama and Congress to come up with reforms to NSA eavesdropping programs, which have been under harsh scrutiny for their scope in the wake of revelations by former contractor Edward Snowden.
The report was a result of a vast review of the phone data collection program, based on public and classified briefings and documents, conducted by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board at the request of Obama and lawmakers....