Be Optimistic, Libertarians!
The NSA is rendered as worse and worse as more revelations show the abuse of rights via technology. The latest is quite pernicious:
In some cases the NSA has masqueraded as a fake Facebook server, using the social media site as a launching pad to infect a target’s computer and exfiltrate files from a hard drive. In others, it has sent out spam emails laced with the malware, which can be tailored to covertly record audio from a computer’s microphone and take snapshots with its webcam. The hacking systems have also enabled the NSA to launch cyberattacks by corrupting and disrupting file downloads or denying access to websites.
The man-in-the-middle tactic can be used, for instance, to covertly change the content of a message as it is being sent between two people, without either knowing that any change has been made by a third party.
Read the rest in the link above.
Even Congress is threatened by the ongoing surveillance programs. The implications, of course, are terrifying. Think about the blackmail that can be held over a congressman’s head to prevent him from doing the right thing.
The implications in the courts are quite staggering. Not only that, but the argument from potential effect is important here: if the wrong person gets into power or we see substantial economic problems, Big Brother’s crackdown will be terrifying.