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The EFF is a great thing, but let's look at what they won: > [O]rders and opinions of the FISC issued from January 1, 2004, to June 6, 2011, that contain a sig

The EFF is a great thing, but let's look at what they won: > [O]rders and opinions of the FISC issued from January 1, 2004, to June 6, 2011, that contain a significant legal interpretation of the government’s authority or use of its authority under Section 215; and responsive “significant documents, procedures, or legal analyses incorporated into FISC opinions or orders and treated as binding by the Department of Justice or the National Security Agency.” My interpretation of that is that the results could just include a lot about: "As stated in (some law or regulation) case # (redacted) with regard to (redacted), (redacted) is fully (or not fully) within the rights of the government to do so." So, I'm sure there will be some information there, but it will be about the laws and regulations surrounding what is possible, not about the actions being discussed. And, frankly I've known for years (who hasn't) that our government wants an excessive amount of information about us with the intent to keep us safe and/or dominate the world, so I don't need the EFF or our government to spend much time on this. The EFF should be figuring out what can be patented and what can be free, and our government should be doing what it can to boost our economy in a long-term fashion while ensuring our freedom and safety. If that involves an overreaching security group, so be it.

einhverfr 13y ago
These are great victories, actually, and the reason why goes back to the decision last term in Amnesty International vs, Clapper. The documents will almost certainly help bolster standing arguments to challenge these programs. Don't sell these victories short. They are important ones.
angrydev 13y ago
The laws and regulations revealed in this document will be important for targeted action on issues. Whether it was obvious to you that the government was harvesting data on its people for years, we cannot fight what we have no evidence about. With this release, we can actually pick out the laws that we have an issue with, and target them for debate. > our government should be doing what it can to boost our economy in a long-term fashion while ensuring our freedom and safety. If that involves an overreaching security group, so be it. If you trust the government with that much power I suppose this whole issue over surveillance seems quaint to you. Most people however would like to have some input over the powers wielded by their government. Something about a 'for the people, by the people' type thing.

einhverfr 13y ago

These are great victories, actually, and the reason why goes back to the decision last term in Amnesty International vs, Clapper. The documents will almost certainly help bolster standing arguments to challenge these programs. Don't sell these victories short. They are important ones.

angrydev 13y ago

The laws and regulations revealed in this document will be important for targeted action on issues. Whether it was obvious to you that the government was harvesting data on its people for years, we cannot fight what we have no evidence about. With this release, we can actually pick out the laws that we have an issue with, and target them for debate. > our government should be doing what it can to boost our economy in a long-term fashion while ensuring our freedom and safety. If that involves an overreaching security group, so be it. If you trust the government with that much power I suppose this whole issue over surveillance seems quaint to you. Most people however would like to have some input over the powers wielded by their government. Something about a 'for the people, by the people' type thing.