@Thomas_Drake1 GOVT access (#NSA) to our data must be determined by a separate and much more stringent set of laws born of the principles set forth in the Bill of Rights and built with the knowledge that gov't has the means to use our information against us, in secret, no?

Does the NSA's mass collection, analysis, and use of communications metadata violate the Fourth Amendment? Some think it does because it acts as surveillance over innocent citizens, treating all of us as criminals in government's dragnet without probable cause or due process. Or as Jay Rosen puts it: "My liberty is being violated because 'someone has the power to do so should they choose.' Thus: It's not privacy; it's freedom."

Question for discussion: if our First Class mail carried by the US Postal Service is protected from government search except with a warrant, then all our private communication – by email, direct message, chat, Skype, or any invention to come – should receive similar protection, no?

If metadata at a large scale – phone data – is problematic for government to hold, then shouldn't there be limits on it at a small scale, including the Post Office (which is now photographing and logging every item it handles)? The problem is that these laws and cases were written to a technology – physical mail or POTS -- when they should be written to a principle. via @jeffjarvis

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