They (NSA / govt) still warehouse it. They just don’t access it without a warrant. That is the current legal fiction they operate the surveillance state under.
Does that matter to the legal theory though? Like they’re free to pass a law that says that carriers have to keep logs for X years and then get a warrant anytime they want them.
Like if you don’t trust the government to follow their own rules then why do the rules matter?
On paper. How do you know it’s foreign? That’s why they warehouse it. As much as they can. Figure out if it’s foreign later on. Don’t underestimate the laws they will skirt to collect data.
They were once caught doing that, which caused a shit show. It doesn't mean they are currently doing that. Maybe they are, I don't know, and neither does you, asserting that they do it only spreads panic and misinformation
Why would they ever stop? No one made them stop. They were cleared to operate under that legal theory. Go back and review the exhaustive testimony from that period and you will find they were never forced to stop collecting “potentially” domestic communications. I think its best to assume they are.
Edit: start with Hayden. They admitted exactly how it all works and what the judges allowed. Read up on the many EFF lawsuits that were shut down.
Like if you don’t trust the government to follow their own rules then why do the rules matter?