Why the NSA Piggybacks On Consumer Tracking 62
An anonymous reader writes "'Snooping on the Internet is tricky. The network is diffuse, global, and packed with potential targets. There's no central system for identifying or locating individuals, so it's hard to keep track of who is online and what they're up to. What's a spy agency to do?' In a Slate op-ed, Ed Felten explains how consumer tracking makes the NSA's job much easier. Felten was the first-ever Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission, serving as the agency's lead technical expert on privacy issues. Now back in academia, he argues that the NSA gets a 'free ride on the private sector,' from distinguishing users, to pinpointing geolocation, to slurping up network traffic."
Re:What else can you do? (Score:4, Insightful)
Or just ignore the whole thing and let them spy on the TERRORISTS that they are actually looking for.
Can't tell if you're being serious, but in case you are: No, the problem here is overreach and feature creep. They are applying their rules for dealing with terrists (essentially none) to the population in general and foreign heads of state in particular.
I don't expect that ignoring the whole thing is a strategy which is likely to limit their ambitions, at all.