[drzaiusapelord]

>After all, it's not like Carrie from Homeland is chillin' at the CIA reading my texts with my girlfriend. They have neither time nor inclination for that.

When you get accused of a federal crime and they use the handful of terabytes of all your data against you, what then? How can you possibly defend yourself against an entity with unlimited power and funding. Check out how much it costs to defend yourself from a federal charge and what the chances of winning are. If your charge is anything remotely national security related, you have zero chance. Partly because of the massive data they have on every citizen.

> I very much do mind New York City being used for another terrorist attack.

Has PRISM or any other program done this? When we do find out about foiled terrorism plots, it always has to do with FBI informants posing as arms dealers or fellow extremists, which ends with an arrest of a low-hanging fruit weirdo who may or may not be dangerous. All this infrastructure didn't stop the shoe bomber or the underwear guy. Those guys were mildly determined. How will it stop a group as organized as the 9/11 bombers?

[jvictor118]

See the comment below for example of a NYC terrorist plot foiled by PRISM.

And by the way -- why would I be accused of a FEDERAL CRIME? I didn't do anything wrong. If anything, _their collection of my data could be used to exonerate me_. Data is a two way street. It can both prove or disprove your guilt.

Be real. You and I both know that when it comes to national security, we do what we have to do. That doesn't mean we exploit those capabilities to put people in unfair situations. You let me know the first time someone gets picked up on a petty offense from PRISM-collected data. I doubt PRISM even collects data on offenses short of treason, terror plots, etc. Certainly none of that falls under the purview of the agencies involved.

By the way - you know other countries are engaged in the cyber war, right? Are you saying you don't want our government's protection against them actually _stealing_ your data and using it for god knows what purpose?

[lhc-]

That collection of data won't exonerate you because you won't have access to it; the only data which will be used is that which is potentially bad for you. And why would you have all this faith that the govt. is only using this data in good faith? Do you remember Aaron Schwartz? He wasn't an isolated incident: its very easy for the federal government to bring charges against anyone they want at any time, especially when they have all this data about you.

[spiritplumber]

Is your name Harry Tuttle?