The intelligence community never lets a terrorist attack go to waste.
I'm convinced they have a wish list in wait for every tragedy. Next on the list was getting a back door on every cellphone.
I'm convinced they have a wish list in wait for every tragedy. Next on the list was getting a back door on every cellphone.
These request are coming from the law enforcement side of the government, not the intelligence community. Given their mission, the intelligence community has no interest in having a public discussion around backdoors, since the last thing they want is for the people they are targeting to be aware of any backdoors in their mobile devices.
Read it and weep.
That's not even remotely debatable, unless you believe the 350+-page Patriot Act was written within a month after 9/11.
Often political changes are artifacts of opportunity. I don't personally think that its evil that the justice department had a laundry list of civil rights violations waiting for an opportunity to propose them. It's the responsibility of the public and earnest lawmakers to be aware of efforts to exploit sentiment and resist bad law regardless of when it's proposed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_Counterterrorism_Act_o...
You see it as them taking advantage of fearful people. They see it as people getting a dose of realism when disaster strikes. It's no different with any perennial political issue. People forget about problems until some event reminds them. Activists use this opening of awareness to push for change.
...really? Isn't this among our foremost duties as effective, responsible, mature citizens?
See "unintended consequences".
It's not really any evidence of conspiracy, or such. Simply that different organisations and people have ideas that they prepare, and put forward when there is an opportunity.
Similarly, the fact that e.g. Russian or American army has written a plan for how to go through Fulda Gap or capture Kiev or close the Bosphorus is not really evidence that the said army is actually about to do such thing. They are simply doing their job by preparing for scenarios.
NSA never needed physical access to our computers. The companies worked directly with them.