Wait, sorry - I don't quite get that, what am I missing here? The logic I'm hearing: 1. Because your emails are "open" (like a postcard) when being transferre

Wait, sorry - I don't quite get that, what am I missing here? The logic I'm hearing: 1. Because your emails are "open" (like a postcard) when being transferred over a network, you do not enjoy an "expectation of privacy" for them 2. Therefore if the government "sees it go by" (like a postcard in the mail), they can read it 3. So if the government plants themselves in the middle of a bunch of networks to "see emails go by" and then stores them in a big database, that should be admissible, no? It seems like the postcard analogy should hold all the way through, right? Ie the government could photograph all mail going through, store it, and look it up later to use in court if they wanted to. Sure - the IRS may or may not actually look into those databases it in practice due to national security concerns, etc - it's just that they could. [edit: formatting]