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Comment by bsamuels | Hacker News Reader

I dont remember anything in the snowden docs about the NSA trying to track the movement of all american citizens.

Comparing what the NSA does to what China does is like comparing the treatment of women in the US and Saudi Arabia

I think it is safe to assume that every country deploying networks of surveillance cameras and infrastructures for tracking communications won't limit its use to counter terrorism or other "good" purposes. Why? Because they can, and because the first thing any powers that be do once they get the captains chair is to secure their position, and surveillance is an extremely powerful tool to get that goal. It may seem excessive and paranoid, but again I would be surprised if they didn't.

Of course, Snowden was only able to review what he saw 5 years ago or more. Why you have any doubts that the NSA, with ample resources to track and control, would use techniques similar to what the Chinese do? Do we really need another Snowden to realize this obvious fact?

> Of course, Snowden was only able to review what he saw 5 years ago or more. Why you have any doubts that the NSA, with ample resources to track and control, would use techniques similar to what the Chinese do? Do we really need another Snowden to realize this obvious fact?

Why do you have so much certainty? What evidence can you provide that they use or currently plan to use these techniques domestically for widespread tracking?

Because while sure they may be working on any sinister form of control possible, the NSA has to do it in secret, which makes it a bit harder to trample on rights. In China it isn't secret, its just the way things are.

Are you familiar with Total Information Awareness?

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