Quote:
Originally Posted by LifeRebooted
I think the point is that the NSA is unlikely to be actively using that data against you unless you are a threat.
Threat isn't black or white, there's an awful lot of grey. Should you be on a no-fly list because your former roommate shares the same name as someone who sent money to a group that has been designated as a terrorist organization?
The sprawling nature of the sweeps - remember that at some point the NSA or GCHQ was just like "hey let's just save all the data that passes through the Internet so we can sift through it" - is very concerning.
Yes, it is unlikely that they will send the SWAT team to waterboard you unless they're pretty sure. But that's a pretty low bar for a country that's supposed to be about freedom.
Put it this way, let's say that the NSA asked for permission to gather up all your text messages and Internet searches and Bitcoin transactions and Facebook/Google+ data and promised that they would just look for incriminating information and pinky promise to not look for anything else. Would you give them permission? If not, why wouldn't you be mad if they did it without permission?