Washington, July 1 (RHC)-- A court in the United States has ruled that the National Security Agency can continue with the systematical collection of Americans' domestic phone calls records.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court made the announcement late on Monday, which was made public by Judge Michael W. Mosman on Tuesday.

In response to the announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union said that it was seeking an injunction that could be issued by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to halt the bulk data collection program, which lapsed on June 1 when Section 215 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act expired.

The program, however, revived on June 2 with a bill called the U.S.A. Freedom Act, which allowed mass data collection to continue for six more months until the agency can replace the program it with a better one.

The NSA has been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans and foreign nationals as well as political leaders around the world. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed the extent of the agency's spying activities in June 2013.

The metadata collection program has been the most controversial aspect of the NSA's surveillance revealed in documents from Snowden. Civil liberties proponents have claimed that the program is illegal and should end.