Looks like warrantless wiretapping in the name of counter-terrorism in the US isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. After a Senate vote last Thursday that saw the bill passed by a vote of 73 to 23, it looks like the proverbial nail is in the coffin on this one.

President Obama has just signed off on an extension to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act, extending wide-range warrantless surveillance of Americans to 2017. Although it is more complicated than just this, thethis law allows warrantless wiretaps across the United States. There were a number of amendments proposed that could have appeased many — such as a quicker expiration of the program and more importantly, the opinions of the FISA court being made public to Americans. All of these, however, were shot down.

Are you angered by this decision? Or is it a non-issue? Discuss in the comments below! Be sure to keep in mind this extension/bill had to pass both the House and the Senate, and be signed by President Obama to become law. So there isn’t just one or two people to blame. Both Democratics and Republicans were in on this one.

[via The Verge, image via Jorge Hernandez]