The FHI is displaying such "last century era" thinking. With literally everything on the verge of being integrated into a (artificial intelligence) network, keeping data tightly encrypted seems crucial! Breaking it open in hopes of prosecuting relatively few drug traffickers or terrorists is missing the forest for the trees. I feel governmental overreach is much more likely to adversely affect great numbers of people than the dangers which are always trotted out to defend their snooping spying ways.
I think there are good arguments to be made in favor of shutting down these extralegal agencies. They represent a level of Federal government overreach that has been actively undermining individual constitutionally protected rights and freedoms for far too long and with every new power they acquire and build into case law, freedoms are eroded just that much more.
They are angry that the U.S. Constitution blocks them from spying on their enemies -- political and otherwise...
The Constitution technically blocks them... if/when they get caught... and people care enough to make a stink so something actually gets done about it. (Which means they get away with all sorts of un-Constitutional baloney.)
I think there are good arguments to be made in favor of shutting down these extralegal agencies. They represent a level of Federal government overreach that has been actively undermining individual constitutionally protected rights and freedoms for far too long and with every new power they acquire and build into case law, freedoms are eroded just that much more.
I think the problem is more that we've let Congress get out of control so that there isn't enough oversight, more than anything. The 3-letter agencies have been turned more into political machines of corruption than doing what they are supposed to be doing.
I always put privacy over criminal investigations because the feds (and any government agency) may employ individuals who may eventually have criminal intent themselves. Like a totalitarian state. Consider if anyone could bypass an encrypted phone containing sensitive information hazardous to society if known. An information doomsday could not be stopped!
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Perhaps they should move to Russia. Putin would welcome them and give them good jobs spying on us.
I think the problem is more that we've let Congress get out of control so that there isn't enough oversight, more than anything. The 3-letter agencies have been turned more into political machines of corruption than doing what they are supposed to be doing.