A federal judge said Monday that he believes the government 's once-secret collection of domestic phone records is unconstitutional , setting up likely appeals and further challenges to the data mining revealed by classified leaker Edward Snowden . U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the National Security Agency 's bulk collection of metadata -- phone records of the time and numbers called without any disclosure of content -- apparently violates privacy rights . His preliminary ruling favored five plaintiffs challenging the practice , but Leon limited the decision only to their cases . `` I can not imagine a more 'indiscriminate ' and 'arbitrary invasion ' than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval , '' said Leon , an appointee of President George W. Bush . `` Surely , such a program infringes on 'that degree of privacy ' that the Founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment . '' Leon 's ruling said the `` plaintiffs in this case have also shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits of a Fourth Amendment claim , '' adding `` as such , they too have adequately demonstrated irreparable injury . '' He rejected the government 's argument that a 1979 Maryland case provided precedent for the constitutionality of collecting phone metadata , noting that public use of telephones had increased dramatically in the past three decades . Leon also noted that the government `` does not cite a single instance in which analysis of the NSA 's bulk metadata collection actually stopped an imminent attack , or otherwise aided the government in achieving any objective that was time-sensitive in nature . '' However , he put off enforcing his order barring the government from collecting the information , pending an appeal by the government . A Justice Department spokesman said Monday that `` we believe the program is constitutional as previous judges have found , '' but said the ruling is being studied . Democratic Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado , a critic of the NSA data mining , said Leon 's ruling showed that `` the bulk collection of Americans ' phone records conflicts with Americans ' privacy rights under the U.S. Constitution and has failed to make us safer . '' He called on Congress to pass legislation he proposed to `` ensure the NSA focuses on terrorists and spies - and not innocent Americans . '' Explosive revelations earlier this year by Snowden , a former NSA contractor , triggered new debate about national security and privacy interests in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks . Snowden 's revelations led to more public disclosure about the secretive legal process that sets in motion the government surveillance . In a statement distributed by journalist Glenn Greenwald , who first reported the leaks , Snowden said he acted on the belief that the mass surveillance program would not withstand a constitutional challenge , and that Americans deserved a judicial review . `` Today , a secret program authorized by a secret court was , when exposed to the light of day , found to violate Americans ' rights . It is the first of many , '' according to Snowden , who is living in Russia under a grant of asylum to avoid prosecution over the leaks in the United States . Greenwald said the judge 's ruling vindicates what Snowden did . `` I think it 's not only the right , but the duty of an American citizen in Edward Snowden 's situation to come forward , at great risk to himself , and inform his fellow citizens about what it is their government is doing in the dark that is illegal , '' the journalist told CNN 's `` Anderson Cooper 360 '' Monday night . The NSA has admitted it received secret court approval to collect vast amounts of metadata from telecom giant Verizon and leading Internet companies , including Microsoft , Apple , Google , Yahoo and Facebook . The case before Leon involved approval for surveillance in April by a judge at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ( FISC ) , a secret body that handles individual requests for electronic surveillance for `` foreign intelligence purposes . '' Verizon Business Network Services turned over the metadata to the government . Leon 's ruling comes as the Obama administration completes a review of NSA surveillance in the aftermath of the Snowden leaks . CNN 's Jake Tapper reported Monday that tech company executives would meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the issue . Obama plans to sit down with Tim Cook of Apple and Eric Schmidt of Google , as well as executives from Twitter , Microsoft , Facebook , Salesforce , Netflix , Etsy , Dropbox , Yahoo ! , Zynga , Sherpa Global , Comcast , LinkedIn and AT & T , a White House official said . Some of those companies issued a joint letter last week calling on the government to change its surveillance policies in the wake of the Snowden revelations . Last month , the Supreme Court refused to take up the issue when it denied a separate petition , which was filed by the Electronic Information Privacy Center . Prior lawsuits against the broader NSA program also have been unsuccessful . Days after the Snowden disclosure in June , some Verizon customers filed legal challenges in the D.C. federal court . The left-leaning American Civil LIberties Union also filed a separate , pending suit in New York federal court . Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of the 1970s , the secret courts were set up to grant certain types of government requests -- wiretapping , data analysis , and other monitoring of possible terrorists and spies operating in the United States . The Patriot Act that Congress passed after the 9/11 attacks broadened the government 's ability to conduct anti-terrorism surveillance in the United States and abroad , eventually including the metadata collection . In order to collect the information , the government has to demonstrate that it 's `` relevant '' to an international terrorism investigation . However , the 1978 FISA law lays out exactly what the special court must decide : `` A judge considering a petition to modify or set aside a nondisclosure order may grant such petition only if the judge finds that there is no reason to believe that disclosure may endanger the national security of the United States , interfere with a criminal , counterterrorism , or counterintelligence investigation , interfere with diplomatic relations , or endanger the life or physical safety of any person . '' In defending the program , NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that `` 15 separate judges of the FISA Court have held on 35 occasions that Section 215 ( of the Patriot Act ) authorizes the collection of telephony metadata in bulk in support of counterterrorism investigations . '' Initially , telecommunications companies such as Verizon , were the targets of legal action against Patriot Act provisions . Congress later gave retroactive immunity to those private businesses . The revelations of the NSA program and the inner workings of the FISC court came after Snowden leaked documents to the Guardian newspaper . Snowden fled to Hong Kong and then Russia to escape U.S. prosecution . The case is Klayman v. Obama ( 13-cv-881 ) .
Snowden says he knew the surveillance would not withstand legal review . The limited ruling opens the door to possible further legal challenges . The NSA data-mining can continue , pending a likely appeal . Classified leaks by Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the data-mining .