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Comment by maximinus_thrax | Hacker News Reader

I find it suspicious that legislators are jumping at this, even via bipartisan effort, while stuff like stingrays, CBP seizing and storing American's phone data, mass surveillance from various three letter agencies are only triggering small bouts of outrage in the news.

In today's world, I'm not even sure if I even care what the USPS does with my mail, I do most if not all of my stuff digitally (exceptions are stuff like license plates/registration which the state already knows about) so I wonder if legislators will finally tackle digital surveillance say 50 years from now?

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Eight out of 100 senators signed this letter, and at least some of the ones I recognize have consistently opposed stingrays, CBP abuse, and mass surveillance. So this is business as usual, unless they can convince 43 others do something about it.

They'll need 52 others to break the filibuster

It might have to do with the fact that most of Congress is old and understands the mail system, but not so much digital communications.

Now that someone has convinced Americans that mail-in voter fraud is real, they would like to commit the actual fraud to retain power.

I think it's probably meant to show that they "care" about your privacy.

Of course. Email, SMS, Twitter, and whatever aren't "papers" in a 4th Amendment sense. Fred Meyer coupon circulars on the other hand...we need to circle the wagons for those.

The First Amendment covers the internet, and poll taxes were found to be illegal... but somehow folks argue the Second Amendment doesn't cover modern firearms and that taxes on these are completely OK.

While not actually effecting the things that matter.

>that legislators are jumping at this

They signed a strongly worded letter. Saying that's "jumping at this" seems generous. It probably won't take fifty years for them to do a completely pointless thing about digital surveillance.

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