It's a bad thing. Also, you shouldn't trust the Times on issues like this. And I wonder why, of all the available articles, the Times was the one chosen to be submitted here on HN.

Anyway, just read ArsTechnica reporting:

* Let the snooping resume: Senate revives Patriot Act surveillance measures http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/06/let-the-snooping-...

* How the end of Patriot Act provisions changes NSA surveillance http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/06/how-the-end-of-pa...