NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on a federal appeals court ruling that rejects some new rules for tracking phone calls and other digital communications. The judges say that the Federal Communications Commission needs to rewrite regulations to address privacy issues. The court is concerned about revealing numbers a subject dials after a phone call is connected, such as credit card numbers. The judges also note that trapping some online communications would capture content as well as routing information, so the FBI should meet a high standard of need. In addition, the court upholds rules that require phone companies to help law enforcement determine the location of a cellular phone caller.
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