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well, I can see where you're coming from, but automation changes the nature. license plates on cars wasn't a big deal, it was primarily used to identify stolen
by GhotiFish 12y ago
well, I can see where you're coming from, but automation changes the nature.
license plates on cars wasn't a big deal, it was primarily used to identify stolen cars and track drivers breaking the law. Then automation entered the picture and it became feasible to track the movements of everyone, aggregate it in a huge database, and claim "they might be criminals later".
PRISM is more of the same, they could of compelled Microsoft to do this long before, of course, but PRISM is one of those compromise everything initiatives. Meaning that even if the possibility existed before, it definitely exists now.
so it's not unjustified bringing it up.
- mpyne 12y agoBut here automation is only automating the hard part (doing the collection correctly and in accordance with company policies). Remember, with PRISM each and every request has to be approved by the company in question before it proceeds, which is still a manual step. So the license plate reader example doesn't apply directly; Rather it might be like a license plate reader that only works when activated by a remote magistrate, only for the one car permitted by that activation, but can continue scanning that one car's license plate from then on wherever it's seen in the city until the permission expires.
- GhotiFish 12y agohuh. I thought they had to justify the inquiry to prisms database, not justify collection itself. Are you sure it's the later, and not the former?