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I can't fucking believe that it's come to this. Every top social media company was (is?) funneling private data into a search interface presented to an agent wi

I can't fucking believe that it's come to this. Every top social media company was (is?) funneling private data into a search interface presented to an agent with no need of warrants. The trial should be the other way around - The People Suing the US Government. The top lawyer representing the people? Edward.

smacktoward 7y ago
I like to believe there's an alternate-universe America where it's Ed Snowden who is filling stadiums to hear him speak, and Donald Trump who has been exiled to Russia. It feels more like the America I grew up believing in.
- DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
  Having attended public elementary school in the 1970's, it would seem we were fed a very optimistic, filtered version of American politics. Schoolhouse Rock's presentation was very selective.
  - rukittenme 7y ago
    I'm sorry Schoolhouse Rock did not give you a complete and definitive understanding of human political order...
    - DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
      To be fair, it did give me great clarity on the topic of conjunctions.
- StreamBright 7y ago
  You grew up in a America that exiles people to Russia?
  - badrequest 7y ago
    Snowden did.
    - StreamBright 7y ago
      The US did not exile Snowden. https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/exile https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/exile
      - aledalgrande 7y ago
        De facto exile, they cancelled his passport.
        StreamBright 7y ago
        Did they exile him to Russia? This was the opening of this thread.
- abneg 7y ago
  Wrong on so many levels, you don't exile people in a democratic society. Also Russia or any other country for that matter is not a dumping ground for folks you happen to disagree with.
linkregister 7y ago
Is that what happened? The PowerPoint slides imply that, but I'm having trouble having that claim substantiated.
- adossi 7y ago
  I believe he is referring to the 'PRISM' program that the NSA used.
  - linkregister 7y ago
    Yes, that is the one. I remember that an influential journalist interpreted one PowerPoint slide deck one way, but that doesn't mean that was the way the program worked.
nappy-doo 7y ago
Just before PRISM came to light, Google to pains to encrypt all internal traffic. AFAIK, Facebook hasn't done this.
- linkregister 7y ago
  Cross-DC, not necessarily internal traffic.
pmiller2 7y ago
I agree, but, the thing is, in order to sue the government, you need two things: legal standing, and (yes) permission from said government. Standing is tough, because you can factually know that millions of people are being spied on this way, but if you can’t prove you suffered damages, no standing for you. This was one of the key issues that kept the no fly list alive for so long. The second arises from the concept of sovereign immunity. The government is essentially immune from lawsuits unless they grant specific permission to sue, or there’s an existing law that says you can sue.

smacktoward 7y ago

I like to believe there's an alternate-universe America where it's Ed Snowden who is filling stadiums to hear him speak, and Donald Trump who has been exiled to Russia. It feels more like the America I grew up believing in.

DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
Having attended public elementary school in the 1970's, it would seem we were fed a very optimistic, filtered version of American politics. Schoolhouse Rock's presentation was very selective.
- rukittenme 7y ago
  I'm sorry Schoolhouse Rock did not give you a complete and definitive understanding of human political order...
  - DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
    To be fair, it did give me great clarity on the topic of conjunctions.
StreamBright 7y ago
You grew up in a America that exiles people to Russia?
- badrequest 7y ago
  Snowden did.
  - StreamBright 7y ago
    The US did not exile Snowden. https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/exile https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/exile
    - aledalgrande 7y ago
      De facto exile, they cancelled his passport.
      - StreamBright 7y ago
        Did they exile him to Russia? This was the opening of this thread.
abneg 7y ago
Wrong on so many levels, you don't exile people in a democratic society. Also Russia or any other country for that matter is not a dumping ground for folks you happen to disagree with.

linkregister 7y ago

Is that what happened? The PowerPoint slides imply that, but I'm having trouble having that claim substantiated.

adossi 7y ago
I believe he is referring to the 'PRISM' program that the NSA used.
- linkregister 7y ago
  Yes, that is the one. I remember that an influential journalist interpreted one PowerPoint slide deck one way, but that doesn't mean that was the way the program worked.

nappy-doo 7y ago

Just before PRISM came to light, Google to pains to encrypt all internal traffic. AFAIK, Facebook hasn't done this.

linkregister 7y ago
Cross-DC, not necessarily internal traffic.

pmiller2 7y ago

I agree, but, the thing is, in order to sue the government, you need two things: legal standing, and (yes) permission from said government. Standing is tough, because you can factually know that millions of people are being spied on this way, but if you can’t prove you suffered damages, no standing for you. This was one of the key issues that kept the no fly list alive for so long. The second arises from the concept of sovereign immunity. The government is essentially immune from lawsuits unless they grant specific permission to sue, or there’s an existing law that says you can sue.