>What are your damages from the NSA collecting all your metadata, or even from recording a conversation? Well, here we have the argument of the 'little man'.

>What are your damages from the NSA collecting all your metadata, or even from recording a conversation? Well, here we have the argument of the 'little man'. If I am wahern, the answer to your question is: probably not much. If I am Elon Musk, the answer may surprise you. The damages from retaliation by members of the elite NSA club, and their military-industrial cronies, could be HUGE. Are we willing to live in that sort of society? This is not a good basis of support for State Secrecy - which has, incidentally, ALWAYS been a corrupting influence in every single society which makes it a keystone policy of conduct. Secrets are corruption. States, which do not exist unless they are continually perpetuated as open truths, become utterly corrupt the moment they start keeping secrets - while becoming resolute and strong when secrecy is dissuaded. >qualified immunity and similar doctrines If what you are doing requires qualified immunity or similar, it is a reactive, failing doctrine, not a productive one. The problem is obviously further upstream, perhaps in the cause for secrecy in the first place. NSA need to keep secrets, why? Fix that why.