Timetable of NSA and Metadata Programs

The New Yorker listed and described all of the events that have transpired since 1999.

In December of 1999, Edward Snowden leaked an Inspector General Report. This leakage exposed that some people may be under surveillance. It is still a mystery to me, as to how and why a man who leaked Top Secret files from the NSA. The document he released has "Top Secret" on every page.

On October 26, 2001, the Patriot Act was passed. The passing of this Act allowed the government to obtain all information (virtual, cellular, and physical), necessary to protect the United States from foreign warfare.  

After September 11, 2001, President Bush allowed the NSA to gather all phone and media records without a warrant. At the time, if you asked anyone if they cared that they were being watched, I guarantee you no one would care. Should that be the case now, or does it make a difference that it was so close to one of the biggest on-soil attacks in US history. In November of 2001, the NSA started gathering large amounts of phone numbers.

The Patriot Act was not loved by all members of Congress. December 14, 2005, Senators Obama, Hagel, Kerry, Durbin, and serveral more signed a letter that says the Patriot Act is a danger to our civil liberties. They were afraid that personal medical records could cause innocent Americans to be under unruly surveillance. To counter that point, you can not know someone is an upstanding citizen or a potential threat without seeing all of their personal information. The Patriot Act was ruled lawful and was reauthorized.

May 23, 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requested that the NSA needs all call-detail information so they can further analyze them. People argued that they should not need that in depth of records because most of the records have no correlation with terrorism.

In September of 2009, Obama requests phone conversations be gather in bulk. He goes back on his recent beliefs about the Patriot Act and wants it to reauthorized as it was before he requested changes.

June 2013, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper admits that he lied in March when asked if the NSA was collecting anything at all on Americans. This threw many Americans for a loop because it was exposed that the government does not fully disclose all that they know.