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The still-classified programme operates under the authority of a Reagan-era executive order and is therefore “entirely outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection,” they said.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) non-profit said: “These reports raise serious questions about what information of ours the CIA is vacuuming up in bulk and how the agency exploits that information to spy on Americans”.”In the course of any lawful collection, CIA may incidentally acquire information about Americans who are in contact with foreign nationals,” a CIA spokesman told BBC News on Friday.

Source: Lawmakers allege ‘secret’ CIA spying on unwitting Americans – BBC News