Hacker News Reader

aren’t the NSA documents snowden leaked a complete rebuttal of your comment?

Not at all. I think those docs showed that they have much better capabilities and collection, targeting and delivery platforms than what people had assumed at the time but there was zero evidence that I’m aware of where they were misusing that to go after illegitimate targets. I think the most controversial thing on that front from memory was Angela Merkel and other EU heads of state which inside of an intelligence agency isn’t particularly controversial at all, that’s just doing your job.

> but there was zero evidence that I’m aware of where they were misusing that to go after illegitimate targets

How could you claim that without (a) having insider knowledge of the secret activities of the FISA court and (b) violating some sort of legal restriction on publicising your knowledge of said court? One of the major complaints about the US surveillance program (indeed any surveillance program) is almost nobody is allowed to know who the targets are or why.

> I think the most controversial thing on that front from memory was Angela Merkel and other EU heads of state

And I think the most controversial target to date was actually Trump.

I don't think you actually read them.

Well go on… enlighten me.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com