[user3939382]

I’d be surprised if they’re “buying browsing data” instead of just having a tap on all major ISPs and siphoning everything off directly, or compelling ISPs to do this with NSLs.

[forward1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A

[bearjaws]

Why create new problems (that will cost you lawyer money) when you can just buy the data?

[NemoNobody]

They buy it so someone else has theoretically done all the nasty stuff to get it - they just take advantage of the opportunity.

Truthfully, the NSA should know at least as much about me as Google, or I don't know why it exists.

[ilc]

The NSA doesn't need to know what Google knows. It needs to know things beyond what Google knows.

It may have less information overall. But that information may be of much higher value.

It is not much data to know how other countries are encrypting their political or military data. And the amount of data in there may not be that high.

The value is... tremendous. Bulk data collection, gives an overall picture. But the details that make it real, that's the secret sauce of the NSA and CIA.

[bilekas]

This. There is no need to purchase data, and also maybe a loophole legally when there is no need for a warrant when the traffic is passing through.

[password4321]

They get the data either way and it's all taxpayer funded.