[zer00eyz]

> However, legal protections against directly spying on the actual decrypted content of Americans are at least in theory stronger.

This was the point of the lots of the five eyes programs. Its not legal for the US to spy on its own citizens, but it isnt against the law for us to do to the Australians... Who are all to happy to reciprocate.

> Snowden's leaks mentioned the NSA tapping inter-DC links of Google and Yahoo...

Snowden's info wasn't really news for many of us who were paying attention in the aftermath of 9/11: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A (This was huge on slashdot at the time... )