Human rights groups are ready to file a federal lawsuit over the mass collection of US phone records – this time, against the Drug Enforcement Agency. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court demanding to stop the DEA from collecting records of people’s international calls without a warrant.

Data collecting program lasted for 20 years and became a template for the NSA’s mass surveillance of US phone data after 9/11. Despite the fact that the US officials claimed that the DEA was not collecting information anymore, the news that the agency collected phone records in the so-called “war on drugs” inspired new questions.

EFF alleged that the mass surveillance puts the work of privacy outfits in jeopardy. For instance, Human Rights Watch works with people who can be in life-or-death situations and speaking out can make them a target. This is why the lawsuit claims that the US government is secretly stretching its surveillance authorities to the breaking point.

It turned out that a number of US presidents secretly allowed the Drug Enforcement Agency to monitor and store phone data that included almost all telephone calls from the United States linked to drug trafficking. Since 1992, the so-called “USTO” program ran without judicial approval, although this was required by the US constitution.

By the way, it seems that the warrantless mass phone records collection has failed to stop the growth of domestic drugs consumption. For example, in 2012, 9.2 % of Americans had consumed narcotics in the past month, up from 8.3% in 2002 – this is despite the efforts of the US, which spends billions on drug eradication abroad –more than $9bn was spent in Colombia and $7.5bn in Afghanistan.