Because everybody does or says things they don't want the world to know about. It used to be illegal for somebody to say they'll not tell that information to anybody in return for favors or material gain. It was blackmail. Now, the government will be able to, and are, doing it and it's called law enforcement. Corporations aren't far behind.
[–] Managalar 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago
The watchmen are parasitic wastes of public funds. Spies should be retrained to be productive members of society. IF large numbers of people start getting killed by secret communications, and standard police can't save them, then we might consider giving up some privacy. 9/11 is a terrible excuse, the response should be proportionate to the risk.
[–] tehfcae 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
My retort to that is. You have nothing you want hide from your government, but the methods our government uses to violate our privacy cause security holes for other governments and organizations to see. Even if they don't use the same exploits all that data is getting stored in a database. Databases can be broken into, it happens a lot. So even if we find a way that only 'the good guys' get to see our data, it is still vulnerable for 'the bad guys'. Do you really want terrorists knowing your schedule and your views about them?
What if you wanted to travel? Do you really think every government agrees with what you have to say.
I also discuss how the lack of transparency can lead to a huge lack of accountability. I normally use this argument against my girlfriend's very religious family. Let's say the person assigned to go through the data of you and your associates is homosexual, and someone in your family says something anti homosexual. What is going to stop that person from saying they found plans to bomb a gay bar on your hard drive?
[–] Managalar ago
Our government should allocate resources for productive ends. This could include upgrading communication infrastructure or other technological development. Paying NSA salaries is like welfare for pervs.