only thing that’s changed is… they’re now buying them not-secretly.
It’s not like they need to have warrants to buy something that’s otherwise legally purchased by basically everybody.
The problem is more where they get the funds to purchase that data.
Ie, your taxes.
You’re paying the government to turn around and use that money to spy on you; instead of say, helping fix the housing crisis or any number of other public issues…
So being a tax payer means you’re immune to investigation? Because you’re taxed fund that investigation?
I’m not defending the practice. I’m saying the feebs aren’t the ones doing something wrong- that information is more or less broadly available; the companies that are selling it are getting your data because you- and everyone else- give it to them.
And a lot of it, also, because these companies offer free or cheap services that lets them collect it. Which they turn around and sell to anyone who has the money to pay.
It’s not just the NSA, but also foreign governments and every major corporation buying that data where ever they can. (And also selling it.)
You want to fix this… you’re not gonna fix it going after the NSA for doing what it’s literally meant to do. Gotta go for the privacy and data transparency laws. Gotta make it illegal to sell data in the first place.
The data shouldn’t be for sale, AND the NSA shouldn’t be using taxes to buy it.
Both can be true.
No, I’m not immune to investigation; investigations should target specific individuals/groups and be investigating based on reasonably articulable suspicion of an actual crime. Not just broadly investigating everyone using public funds in the hopes of finding a crime to then actually investigate.
Their core mission is to vacuum up every single communication they can. They’re going to be getting or trying to get that data- and they don’t need a warrant to buy it. It’s not your data. It’s google’s or Microsoft’s or whoever’s data about you.
You want to solve the problem- the real problem- then you need to focus on privacy and data transparency laws.
It seems weird to be stuck on how they’re paying for it. (Would you prefer they tap into the CIA’s cocaine proceeds?)(or maybe you’d prefer they use seized crypto?)
Solving the first solved the other. Solving the other… changes… nothing…
If anything, it’s kind of surprising that they need to buy them rather than are just able to scoop up all of that data all by themselves.
It’s just more cost effective. Remember the snowden leaks?
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I honestly have no idea which is worse, that the NSA has been able to buy browsing data from shadowy brokers or that companies in the position to sell that data have been selling it to said shadowy brokers.
The US government sure seems to love finding new ways to violate the 4th amendment…
NSA admits to acting like corporate fascists, par for the course
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Nothing to hide argument detected.
Yeah, for alot of people that’s not useful data; but I’d rather the government used the taxes I’m required to pay to improve public infrastructure or help fix the housing crisis, instead of just giving it to multi-billion dollar private corporations so they can spy on my uninformative browsing data.
