Should the NSA (National Security Agency) be allowed to collect basic metadata of citizen’s phone calls such as numbers, timestamps, and call durations?

It all depends on what they need the info for.

Yes, but only if the person says that its ok.

Getting permission to do that so people would not feel weird having someone from the NSA looking into are phones.

Abolish the NSA, give the job to someone else, and only allow for it with probable cause/warrant. And no one should be prosecuted for using VPNs or privacy factors to prevent it if they do not know of a warrant against them.

I would say yes if they have reasonable suspicion that said persons may be involved in something that affects national security.

Yes, collecting basic phone metadata can help the NSA detect potential security threats, but it should be done with strict oversight and safeguards to protect citizens’ privacy. Limiting the data collected to what is necessary and ensuring transparency can balance national security needs with individual rights.

NO... The NSA should not be allowed to collect citizens’ phone metadata in bulk. Privacy, due process, and legitimate authority require individualized suspicion and warrants. Even “basic” metadata reveals intimate patterns of life, and mass collection treats citizens as subjects of surveillance rather than bearers of rights, eroding trust and constitutional order without proportional security gain.