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Comment by criley2 | Hacker News Reader

If the NSA is tapping fiber at providers, a la Room 641A, then the companies behavior is completely irrelevant to the spying, and the NSA watches all traffic in and out of their networks anyway.

So your choice, as a European, seems to be utilize networks that don't pass through America at all, or have the NSA spy on you. I apologize for the inconvenience.

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> If the NSA is tapping fiber at providers, a la Room 641A, then the companies behavior is completely irrelevant to the spying, and the NSA watches all traffic in and out of their networks anyway.

Then why would the companies need blanket immunity?

Wrong, if they are tapping at the wires they only see that your using gmail, not the content of your email or who you are speaking to (Unless you turn off ssl for some strange reason).

Isn't the whole point of all this outrage that NSA have equipment or data exchange arrangements with GMail etc. so that SSL is irrelevant?

"Isn't the whole point of all this outrage that NSA have equipment or data exchange arrangements with GMail etc. so that SSL is irrelevant" Yes which is why the NSA needs the cooperation of the companies, since this info can't be gotten just by listening on the wire.

How likely is it that these companies can be compelled to turn over their SSL private keys via FISA court?

Very likely. Even if it was for a specific case.

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