[twoodfin]

Apologies for crossing threads, but aren't you pretty upset that the NSA simply has Verizon phone records, despite a lack of evidence they're planning on doing anything nefarious with them?

Anyway, as I understand it, weev did speculate about selling the information. And would you be so sanguine if this were health records or private photographs? I'm not seeing a plausible guiding principle here.

[betterunix]

We hold the government to a different standard. I am free to forbid atheists from entering my home, and nobody can complain about it beyond calling me an asshole. The government cannot ban atheists from its buildings. Many people have pointed out that the NSA was collecting information that privacy industry already had -- yet we are still angry about the NSA having it.

I also draw a line between what makes me upset and what should be a crime. I do not think that everything that makes me upset should be illegal. Frankly, while I would be angry at Weev if he downloaded hospital records, I would be much more angry at the hospital that failed to secure those records. I believe that the law should draw the line at how the information is secured and how it is used, not how it is obtained.