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For some reason I truly do not understand, the Courts have held that who you call (and how long the call takes) counts as a "pen register." This was an extension of the log a hotel kept -- initially of who checked in, then who the hotel called on behalf of the guests, and then of the PBX records. (My problem with it is: if it's so public as to not require a warrant, that means that ANYONE can get at it, right? The answer is: nope, because they're not allowed to give out that data to anyone without a court order. Unless it's law enforcement, in which case they blithely hand it over.)
This is a "simple" extension to that: hand over ALL call record data, period. No need to specify an originating number or time period... just electronically transfer the entire database periodically, and let the NSA sort it all out.
Every single time I think I can't be surprised by the depths this country has sunk, this administration manages to go further.
