Defenders of the program point out that it is consistent with current law and with America’s constitutional philosophy of checks and balances, because both the legislative and judicial branches approved it. Opponents argue that the court created in 1978 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was designed for an era before the advent of big data, and that current practice stretches the provisions of the Patriot Act, passed after the September 11 attacks.
该项目的辩护者指出，它符合当前法律，也符合美国宪法的制衡原则，因为立法和司法机构都批准了它。反对者认为1978年在外国情报监控法（FISA）下成立的法庭是为大数据出现之前的时代设计的，当前的规定扩大了9·11袭击后通过的爱国者法案的范围。