Comment by hooande | Hacker News Reader

Comment by hooande | Hacker News Reader

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About ten years ago, the NSA got direct access to every phone call, text and email sent via AT&T from the west coast to asia. Every. Single. Message. Set up shop next to the servers and just copied all of the data coming across.

I think that by "dossiers" this guy meant "social network information from communication logs". They can start with your number (any number) and see who communicates with it. And then see who communicates with those people, and so on until they find a link to a terrorist or whatever.

If you're doing something that the government doesn't want you to do, use a burner phone. And drive 30 minutes from your home, and use a proxy server to connect to the internet. Any federal agent can get a record of every call you make with a boilerplate warrant. The NSA can dig up the full text of all of your conversations with a tech support ticket. Welcome to 2012.

If it makes you feel any better, facebook has a similar level of information about you and they haven't done much harm with it.

And drive 30 minutes from your home, and use a proxy server to connect to the internet

I'd love to hear some details of what you are proposing here. Because right now it doesn't sound like you know what you are talking about.

If it makes you feel any better, facebook has a similar level of information about you and they haven't done much harm with it.

Um. No they don't.

Your location can be triangulated even if you don't use a cell phone registered to yourself.

Using a VPN, you reduce the chances that your internet use will be traced back to you.

Facebook has a staggering amount of personal information about most of their users. While not necessarily on the same level as personal phone calls, it should still be a concern of anyone that uses social networks.

Try to actually make a case next time you post. Saying "Nuh uh, nuh uh" over and over makes you look like an ass.

Your location can be triangulated even if you don't use a cell phone registered to yourself.

My point exactly.

Using a VPN, you reduce the chances that your internet use will be traced back to you.

That has some truth in it, but isn't what the OP is proposing.

Try to actually make a case next time you post.

Fair enough. It's worth noting that when I wrote this, the OP was the highest voted comment on this thread.

The NSA has complete financial history of everyone who submits tax returns or uses a credit card, logs of every phone call and email message, and it seems likely they have location data from cell phone providers as well. In the UK their agencies track car movements via registration plates, and it would be surprising if the NSA didn't have similar capabilities.

Saying that is the same as what Facebook has is misleading - it makes the NSA seem like they aren't doing anything extraordinary, and it makes Facebook seem like they are doing things they don't have the right to do.

On your second point, here's incomplete list of data that facebook stores about its users. Note that they keep all wall posts, messages, tags, and photos even after the user deletes it from his profile

http://europe-v-facebook.org/EN/Data_Pool/data_pool.html

Of course, they won't have any of your data if you don't have an account, which might be what you're trying to get at.

> Of course, they won't have any of your data if you don't have an account

Facebook can indeed. Your name even without an account can be tagged into photos and status updates by other users. Those photos contain location data. And of course the accounts of other users in the same photo as you contain a wealth of data about their locations and interests and one-degree-further friends, statistically speaking much of which will also apply to you.

Whether Facebook has the ability to automatically aggregate such sparse data into something useful is an open question, but the data does exist. Unless you somehow never let yourself get photographed or mentioned by anybody else who does use Facebook.

Facebook's data is extensive, but nothing at all like what the NSA collects. I responded in detail here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4260143

Of course, they won't have any of your data if you don't have an account, which might be what you're trying to get at.

It wasn't my point, but is valid too.

>facebook has a similar level of information about you and they haven't done much harm with it.

Facebook does not have anywhere near the level of surveillance that the NSA possesses. Please read the article again and do some research on the case. That being said, Facebook does have a lot of information about you. It will remain confidential until CISPA passes, at which point it will be legally beneficial for them to hand over this information to the government.

> If it makes you feel any better, facebook has a similar level of information about you and they haven't done much harm with it.

How do you know?

Because they say so. Ain't that enough?

Let them. I still believe in the justice system enough to be willing to put this sort of thing to a legal test.

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