They're collecting phone records of everyone. They say they haven't been collecting location data yet (I don't trust them, but we'll leave that aside for now) but a court just ruled that they are free to do so, so I expect they will start to if they haven't already. That violates my privacy even though it is technically legal.
Furthermore, collecting business records of everyone without a warrant requiring probable cause absolutely violates the spirit of the law they claim authorizes it, as evidenced by the authors of that very law saying so.
Your second paragraph is meaningless to the discussion, because what I, and others, are trying to do is raise awareness of the threats to convince others to act, which is something everyone is free to do on any subject.
Governments do inevitably push at the edges of everything they're allowed to do, which is why we have to keep enforcing and adding limitations as necessary to keep them from pushing out in new areas. It's not hopeless, as long as there are still independent branches of government that don't all work together on everything. Congress needs to establish firm limits and close the loopholes and twisted interpretations of law the executive branch continues to find and exploit.
They're not collecting everyone's phone records or location data at all times, that's absolutely untrue.
Can you provide a reason why collecting business records against the spirit of the law, or am I just supposed to take your word for it? Who, specifically, voted for and wrote the law that says this? What court agrees with them? There's a process in place for what you're talking about, and why hasn't that process been worked through?
You said, and I quote, "Because governments inevitably expand and abuse their power." If this is true, then there is nothing you can do to stop it (that's what the word inevitable means). Do you not think this is true?
You just take what you've read, and extrapolate it ten times over. It's making an open debate impossible. You're harming the process. Stop it.
Furthermore, collecting business records of everyone without a warrant requiring probable cause absolutely violates the spirit of the law they claim authorizes it, as evidenced by the authors of that very law saying so.
Your second paragraph is meaningless to the discussion, because what I, and others, are trying to do is raise awareness of the threats to convince others to act, which is something everyone is free to do on any subject.
Governments do inevitably push at the edges of everything they're allowed to do, which is why we have to keep enforcing and adding limitations as necessary to keep them from pushing out in new areas. It's not hopeless, as long as there are still independent branches of government that don't all work together on everything. Congress needs to establish firm limits and close the loopholes and twisted interpretations of law the executive branch continues to find and exploit.