Obama signs warrant-less surveillance bill

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama Sunday signed a five-year extension of the law allowing warrant-less electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists, the White House said.

The statement from the press secretary's office simply stated the president had signed the measure, without which the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act would have expired at year's end.

The Senate had given its approval to the re-authorization of the act's provisions on a 73-23 vote Friday, the Los Angeles Times said. The House had passed it previously.

The law has bee criticized by privacy advocates, the newspaper noted, because it allows the government to monitor phone calls, emails and other electronic communications between suspected terrorists and U.S. citizens without judicial approval.