The Justice Department of the United States is acquiring data from mobile phones by using devices known as "dirtboxes," which are deployed on airplanes.The ACLU is not amused. And neither should you be.
The high-tech operations, reported by the Wall Street Journal, targets criminals and suspects. However, a huge number of innocent people are also being affected, according to sources that are familiar with the matter.
The U.S. Marshals Service program, which gained full functionality around 2007, controls Cessna airplanes from no less than five airports in metropolitan areas, with a range of flight that covers most of the population of the United States.
I would ask how long are we going to tolerate indiscriminate government snooping on Americans, but it seems to be that the answer is "forever". Once party X or candidate why gets into power, they drink the NSA/FBI/Stasi Kool-Aid and nothing ever changes.
The way out of this Principal-Agent problem is to take the agent out of the game.
ReplyDeleteFederal plebiscites with the force of law would allow to bypass Congress.
I've always wondered if the incoming president gets a meeting on day 1 when the MIC, or whoever, sits him down and threatens everything he loves if he doesn't obey.
ReplyDeleteI kinda think Carter would have blown the whistle by now, so maybe that meeting is a relatively new addition.