President Obama has signed into law a measure ending the mass phone surveillance program exposed by Edward Snowden two years ago. The Senate passed the USA FREEDOM Act on Tuesday with a vote of 67 to 32. The law stops the bulk collection of telephone records. It instead requires the NSA to ask companies for a specific user’s data rather than vacuuming up all the records at once. It also appoints a civilian advocate to represent the public interest before the secret FISA court that approves government spying requests. The NSA will still retain wide surveillance powers, including over Internet data. In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union said: “This is the most important surveillance reform bill since 1978, and its passage is an indication that Americans are no longer willing to give the intelligence agencies a blank check. Still, no one should mistake this bill for comprehensive reform.”