Supporters of the National Security Agency inevitably defend its sweeping collection of phone and Internet records on the ground that it is only collecting so-called “metadata”—who you call, when you call, how long you talk. Since this does not include the actual content of the communications, the threat to privacy is said to be negligible.
That argument is profoundly misleading.
Of course knowing the content of a call can be crucial to establishing a particular threat. But metadata alone can provide an extremely detailed picture of a person’s most intimate associations and interests, and it’s actually much easier as a technological matter to search huge amounts of metadata than to listen to millions of phone calls.
As NSA General Counsel Stewart Baker has said, “metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.” When I quoted Baker at a recent debate at Johns Hopkins University, my opponent, General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and the CIA, called Baker’s comment “absolutely correct,” and raised him one, asserting, “We kill people based on metadata.”
Read more here: nybooks.com
Sleep well, you're in good hands. Honestly, this is quite terrifying. God forbid a real "terrorist" should accidentally call your phone number.
A billion dollar program, with an apparent zero cost to benefit ratio that allows for a judge, jury and executioner in one broad swoop based entirely upon metadata takes the term Orwellian to a new level.
The kicker is, next presidential election, we'll be offered more of the same. As always, we'll vote for the lesser of two evils, and they will maintain the status quo. Does anyone think for a second Hillary or Jeb will put an end to this? LOL, the inquisition is here to stay.
That argument is profoundly misleading.
Of course knowing the content of a call can be crucial to establishing a particular threat. But metadata alone can provide an extremely detailed picture of a person’s most intimate associations and interests, and it’s actually much easier as a technological matter to search huge amounts of metadata than to listen to millions of phone calls.
As NSA General Counsel Stewart Baker has said, “metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.” When I quoted Baker at a recent debate at Johns Hopkins University, my opponent, General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and the CIA, called Baker’s comment “absolutely correct,” and raised him one, asserting, “We kill people based on metadata.”
Read more here: nybooks.com
Sleep well, you're in good hands. Honestly, this is quite terrifying. God forbid a real "terrorist" should accidentally call your phone number.
A billion dollar program, with an apparent zero cost to benefit ratio that allows for a judge, jury and executioner in one broad swoop based entirely upon metadata takes the term Orwellian to a new level.
The kicker is, next presidential election, we'll be offered more of the same. As always, we'll vote for the lesser of two evils, and they will maintain the status quo. Does anyone think for a second Hillary or Jeb will put an end to this? LOL, the inquisition is here to stay.
outrageous