re: #4 Rightwingconspirator

The linked article is a bit confusing, because it refers to both public and private networks. With respect to public networks, it is not so clear that there is any constitutional right to privacy against government information gathering. The Supreme Court has reiterated time and again that the right, under the Constitution, to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures applies only to information in which one has a reasonable expectation of privacy. The government does not, for example, need a warrant to attend a public speech that I give and take notes on what I say and do. It does, on the other hand, require a warrant to come into my home and do the same thing with respect to the things I say to my t.v. set while watching a so-called “reality show”.

The question, then, is whether there is any reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to what one writes or states on a “public” network. My understanding is that, consistent with well-settled constitutional principles, there is probably little to no such expectation and a warrant is probably not needed. A “private” network, on the other hand, implies a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant before the government can go snooping.

The question, insofar as it appears from the article, is whether the NSA can be trusted not to snoop on private networks if it is given the authority to do so with respect to public networks.