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It’s totally useless for tracking “contacts with terrorists”, especially compared to phone records or chat metadata. Location data is far more valuable for a s

• hartator 7y ago
  It might be useless or it might not. And it’s not like the NSA has not been collecting in the past “useless” data for the sake of it.
• johnbellone 7y ago
  There’s an argument for it being more useful than location data. If you are actively watching a target you do not need their location. But what is useful are the ability to track the movements of their social network, who they interact with, etc.
  • SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
    Exactly. This is better than many existing surveillance because you are now using other people as sensors and the meta data is higher than ever before. X and Y were connected to the same tower at 12:52... vs X and Y were feet from each other and Z who we didn’t even know about from 12:50.430 to 12:55.001
  • joshuamorton 7y ago
    But you can't identify anyone in the social network, because the identifiers you get aren't tied to any individual unless the individual chooses to reveal them. So unless you're tracking a terrorist and their social network comes down with Coronavirus and you subpoena the hospital they were tested at for records, you aren't able to tie the IDs to individuals.