US judge rules NSA spy-ops 'legal'

Following a judge's opinion that the US' alleged spying operations are 'Orwellian', a New York federal judge has reportedly labeled the programmes as being 'legal'.

The clash of opinions spread throughout the Congress and the public, who have been trying to balance the need for personal privacy in light of national security.

According to Fox News, District Judge William H. Pauley III ruled that undoubtedly the mass collection of metadata vacuums up information about virtually every telephone call to, from, or within the US, but post the 9/11 attacks, using the technology has become crucial and represents the Government's counter-punch to eliminate al-Qaeda's terror network.

Last week, US District Court Judge Richard Leon expressing his views on the alleged programmes had said that the phone record collection likely violated the Constitution and questioned the mere existence of such a programme.

The global controversy surrounding the programmes arrive after NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked the highly classified data related to the snoop-ops that upset the US' ties with its allies.

The White House appointed task force had recently issued its report regarding possible changes that could be implemented in the collection of mass telephone records in a bid to restore public confidence.