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> NSA officials told Wyden that not only is the intelligence agency purchasing data on Americans located in the US but that it also bought Americans' Internet metadata. (noc.social)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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> NSA officials told Wyden that not only is the intelligence agency purchasing data on Americans located in the US but that it also bought Americans' Internet metadata.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/01/nsa-finally-admits-to-spying-on-americans-by-purchasing-sensitive-data/

Why do you need to spy, when you can simply... buy?

We gave up our data willingly and made it easy for all the 3-letter agencies of the world. We only have ourselves to blame. 🤷‍♂️

(Link HT: @technology)

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah the scandal here isn’t that the NSA bought it, it’s that it’s available for purchase in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Seriously. Why act like the NSA are the bad guys? It's literally their job. They would be negligent in their duties if they didn't do it.

If people want more privacy, they need to change the fucking laws.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Oh I’m no fan of the NSA purchasing untold amounts of data about Americans, but seriously how can you blame them for it when the data is readily and legally available for purchase by pretty much anyone? These datasets shouldn’t exist in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yeah, "we can do it because there aren't laws against it" is pretty much the worst justification for anything unethical.

But I guess what do you expect when a large amount of the world equates "legal" with "moral and ethical."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I'm with ya on that. I could rant on and on about privacy, but this ain't the place for that, I guess. The gov't promised if we let ISPs and telcos turn over our data they could catch all the terrorists, and now 20 years later they can't even catch kids making prank phone calls (SWATting) or telemarketers.

I guess it's true, people get the leadership they deserve.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Bro what? No. Why can't we be mad at both the NSA and the fact that it's available to purchase?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Be mad at them all you want. But being mad at them doesn't change anything.

Edit: Sorry. I didn't mean for that to come out snippy. My point is there's nothing wrong with being mad. It's the action that gets results.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

No, their job is to spy on NON DOMESTIC citizens. A court ruled that what they did under Snowden was illegal as fuck and they pinky swore not to do it anymore. Them spying on American citizens that don't communicate with foreigners is supposed to be illegal. You said it so confidently, but you are mistaken.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSA_warrantless_surveillance_(2001%E2%80%932007)