An article on HN a few months back about a guy who worked in a Three Letter Agency specifically stated that when or if a data analyst came across data that was

An article on HN a few months back about a guy who worked in a Three Letter Agency specifically stated that when or if a data analyst came across data that was not pertinent to their job, and viewing that data was potentially infringing on someone's constitutional rights, there were forms filled out and steps taken that stated such an occurrence happened. He also said the Patriot Act screwed that all up. The WP article below specifically talks about communications, but the skeptic in me doubts there is much change between one form of data and another in a highly bureaucratic environment such as the NSA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Andrews_Drake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Andrews_Drake http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/13/AR2010071305992_pf.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07...