Some good news: The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to insert a moratorium on the Pentagon’s TIA, a controversial data-mining program that critics say would amount to a domestic spying apparatus. If fully implemented, TIA would link databases from sources such as credit card companies, medical insurers and motor vehicle agencies in hopes of snaring terrorists.
But it’s not over yet: Final passage of the moratorium is not certain. Because the House of Representatives’ version of the omnibus appropriations bill does not include any limits on TIA, a conference committee will have the final say.
