4 ms·

Long before that we had ECHELON. [PDF] https://historicalarchives.europarl.europa.eu/files/live/sites/historicalarchive/files/03_PUBLICATIONS/03_European-Parli

• echelon_musk 10mo ago
  As a bit of trivia ECHELON was discussed in Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. 'Conspiracy Theorist Caller' phones in to Chatterbox FM to discuss and makes a call to free Kevin Mitnick: > Come on, do you honestly believe the NSA's echelon system isn't already reading your e-mails, and recording your phone conversations? It's all designed to frighten us so we don't complain about our rights being taken away in the name of fighting whatever boogeyman they come up with today.
  • literallywho 10mo ago
    ECHELON was quite popular in games back then. In the Splinter Cell games from the same era (2002), you're an operative of a US black ops organization called "Third Echelon" (and there's a second Echelon too, I guess).
    • echelon_musk 10mo ago
      Yep. Sam Fisher works for the NSA!