[tshile]

Well this certainly sheds some light on Google's decision to try to force SSL encryption by factoring that into their page ranking algorithm(s). Among the speculation was the idea that it was a way of flipping off the NSA, and like-agencies, by making their job harder by encouraging others to encrypt their traffic. In my opinion, this speculation now has more sturdy ground to stand on.

It's a shame that we're reduced to posting our outrage on the internet and left with no real actionable moves on the issue. We can fight it by working towards encrypting our data/traffic, but we can't force a public conversation on the issue that would result in stopping the all-out effort to collect an analyze the actual data. We'll forever be in a cat-and-mouse game over the issue. With the people involved in this having a significant leg up over the global community and always being one step ahead.

I get that this sort of thing can, and likely is, used to protect the general public from nefarious actors. What's a shame is that at this point we assume it's also used against the general public, an assumption that comes with good reason.