Section 215 has expired. At least for now. The law that the NSA used to authorize its collection of vast amounts of information about the telephone calls of ordinary Americans is no more. Even though it’s likely temporary, it’s a good thing and we should pause to celebrate a little. The calls and emails Congress received from people across the country and across the political spectrum changed the debate.

The Senate let three provisions of the Patriot Act expire: Section 215, the section the government uses to collect phone and other business records in bulk, the “Lone Wolf provision,” and the “roving wiretap” provision. Section 215 now—at least temporarily—reverts to its pre-Patriot Act form, which doesn’t permit any collection of financial or communications records, and requires the Government to provide “specific and articulable facts” supporting a reason to believe that the target is an agent of a foreign power.

This is a good thing. And of course, the government still has plenty of tools to investigate national security cases.

Senate rules allow a final vote, which only needs a simple majority of 51, to occur early Tuesday morning. It’s not clear whether any amendments will be offered and we’ll keep watching on EFFLive and keep you posted as this saga continues.

But tonight, this is a historic baby step. We should all pause and for us at EFF who’ve been fighting mass surveillance since 2006, take a moment to smile.

This article first appeared on Electronic Frontier Foundation and is republished under Creative Commons license.
Source: io9 Section 215 of the Patriot Act Expires—For Now