Is Someone Watching Us? Should We Fell Paranoic?

[EricLovesBA]

Ran across this interview. It puts a human face on the PRISM leak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD4_fGS1TYs

Got me interested enough to read the Wikipedia article on PRISM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

"On May 28, 2013, Google was ordered by United States District Court Judge Susan Illston to comply with a National Security Letter issued by the FBI to provide user data without a warrant.[29] Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in an interview with VentureBeat said, "I certainly appreciate that Google put out a transparency report, but it appears that the transparency didn't include this. I wouldn't be surprised if they were subject to a gag order."

I do more or less believe Google would like to "do no evil", but it's difficult when the worlds must aggressive government has your arm twisted behind your back.

 

[sleslie23]

Obviously either way the press release is going to be option 1. In our current environment I *always* assume any online activity is subject to prying eyes, especially web based email. "Online privacy" is an oxymoron.

Exactly. If the news is just getting out about the NSA tapping our emails, then the reality is they've already been doing it for years. I don't like the precedent this sets (remember that thing we used to call the Bill of Rights), but at the same time, I don't blather all my business on Facebox anyway. If they want to read my boring email, sucks to be them. Hell, I don't even want to read it.

 

[Risu]

 

[nlaruccia]

I don't think there's any reason to feel paranoid if you're not participating in terrorist activities. The question is how much are we willing to sacrifice for security? Which is one of the most critical issues at this point in time. The government has been tapping into emails and phone calls for a long time whether we were aware of it or not and I'm sure they're too concerned with finding potential security threats to care about who's cheating on their spouse via some social networking site or tax evasion, like what happens in Argentina. Now I would be more paranoid about what's going on in relation to the link posted below.

www.salon.com/2013/06/07/alleged_cheating_husband_gets_shamed_on_facebook/

 

[robwerwe]

I don't think there's any reason to feel paranoid if you're not participating in terrorist activities. The question is how much are we willing to sacrifice for security? Which is one of the most critical issues at this point in time. The government has been tapping into emails and phone calls for a long time whether we were aware of it or not and I'm sure they're too concerned with finding potential security threats to care about who's cheating on their spouse via some social networking site or tax evasion, like what happens in Argentina. Now I would be more paranoid about what's going on in relation to the link posted below.

www.salon.com/2013/06/07/alleged_cheating_husband_gets_shamed_on_facebook/

Oh dear your really have swallowed all their propaganda. Did you watch the video?

What happens when the government changes and decides it doesn't like what you said on Facebook / Twitter / Text / on the phone / To your friend in the pub but your smart phone still recorded it - that one time?

 

[ghost]

1. If you think the NSA is interested in you or your email, you have a super inflated view of you.
2. 90% of you folks have your entire mundane life plastered all over FaceBox. So whats the worry about privacy?
3. Every time we embrace a new technology we give up an old right and an old freedom.
Go ahead and focus on the NSA while your car insurance company is tapping into your driving habits via your gps, and Google sells your location to local merchants so they can text you as you walk past their store etc,etc, etc. Transparancy is a two way street.
Disclosure:
I long for the days when I could be off the grid.

 

[robwerwe]

1. If you think the NSA is interested in you or your email, you have a super inflated view of you.

Not now they aren't but this system is very open to abuse.

Lets say you are protesting against the next illegal American war. Whats to stop them digging some dirt on you, and lets face it none of us are completely gilt free.

 

[nlaruccia]

The advancement of technology goes hand in hand with security and privacy issues. Of course they're using every aspect and possible detail of our daily routines (driving/sleeping/grooming/sexual habits)to aide in direct or indirect advertising and publicity and potential sales benefits reaped from the invasion of our private lives. Everything today is about consumerism on a global scale. The question is defining which aspects of this "spying" directed at us is meant to root out potential terrorists or analyze and identify future consumers. The problem is the use of commercial and social network sites mingled with government activities. Remember the huge scandal created when it was dos covered that the FBI supposedly was using Facebook to search for wanted criminals?

 

[ghost]

Lets say you are protesting against the next illegal American war.

What the fu...k is "illegal war". If you really think war has rules you are far less than 18 years old.
I intend to protest any war I wish. Legal or illegal. In fact I may protest some taxes and a few inalienable rights that have been userped along the way.

 

[EricLovesBA]

It's all fine and good and innocent until some mood swing or the wrong person gets in charge, or these is a dollar collapse and the public will listen to any demagogue who claims to have all the answers. Then you've got a government with a free license to do whatever they want. If you need examples to imagine how this works, just talk to people here about the not so distant past dictatorship, or read about Nazi Germany, or just something as simple as watch a few videos about the McCarthy era. The constraints on government power in the constitution were put there for a reason. Our generation is too complacent and comfortable to bother wondering what those reasons are.