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First, I hear your point. But, I think there is a "huge material difference" between a parents right to know who their kids are talking to and a governments ri

First, I hear your point. But, I think there is a "huge material difference" between a parents right to know who their kids are talking to and a governments right to know who I am talking to. To put it another way: is this a form of blocking the assembly of people? If I meet in private with a group of people does the government have a right to know all of the meta data about the conversation such as who was present, when they arrived and left, etc? In this hypothetical, I'm assuming we are convening on private property and not a public sidewalk. If we met in private does the government have the right to compel the doorman to reveal these details indiscriminately?

MartinCron 13y ago
And to that I totally agree, I do not think that governments should automatically have the right to all call metadata and that the status quo is a gross overreach. I was just pointing out that there is a real (legal, common sense, whatever) distinction between knowing that a call was made and listening in to a call.
bmelton 13y ago
That's an exceptionally salient point if you think about how our nation was formed, and how much of what later proved to be the framework of our nation was the work of a bunch of guys secretly meeting in Philadelphia. If the British had known the names, arrival times, etc. of those meetings, even without knowing the content, it is very likely that our nation would never have been born.
harryh 13y ago
"If we met in private does the government have the right to compel the doorman to reveal these details indiscriminately?" Of course they do.
- lukejduncan 13y ago
  The key to the question was "indiscriminately." Does the government have the right to require to doorman to keep tabs on everyone without probable cause. [edit typo]
saraid216 13y ago
> But, I think there is a "huge material difference" between a parents right to know who their kids are talking to and a governments right to know who I am talking to. No, there isn't. Children are not a parent's private property.

MartinCron 13y ago

And to that I totally agree, I do not think that governments should automatically have the right to all call metadata and that the status quo is a gross overreach. I was just pointing out that there is a real (legal, common sense, whatever) distinction between knowing that a call was made and listening in to a call.

bmelton 13y ago

That's an exceptionally salient point if you think about how our nation was formed, and how much of what later proved to be the framework of our nation was the work of a bunch of guys secretly meeting in Philadelphia. If the British had known the names, arrival times, etc. of those meetings, even without knowing the content, it is very likely that our nation would never have been born.

harryh 13y ago

"If we met in private does the government have the right to compel the doorman to reveal these details indiscriminately?" Of course they do.

lukejduncan 13y ago
The key to the question was "indiscriminately." Does the government have the right to require to doorman to keep tabs on everyone without probable cause. [edit typo]

saraid216 13y ago

> But, I think there is a "huge material difference" between a parents right to know who their kids are talking to and a governments right to know who I am talking to. No, there isn't. Children are not a parent's private property.