The key difference is that UK regulations have already been passed to deal with the situation, whilst the NSA is doing things without seeking further approval.
I don't agree with the regulations (the voluntary code of practise is of course a joke) but they are lawful, whereas the NSA's 'ask for information' is apparently not.
I'd be a fool to tar everyone with the same brush. I have a lot of US-based friends, and in general they are fine, upstanding and generally decent folk.
It is interesting to catch CNN or Fox on satalite and compare the response to major news events. 'Feeding frenzy' is a wonderfully descriptive phrase, especially when compared to the BBC or ITN.
With regards to what 'The Bad Guys' are doing that requires invasive phone record monitoring, I think the NSA is barking up the wrong tree. In an age of the internet, mobile phones, VoIP and the like, it almost seems quaint to suggest that terrorists are using an inherantly 'risky' system.
Here in the UK, if calls are going to be monitored or recorded, companies must inform you *before* the call starts that it might happen. Even if that particular call isn't recorded, they still have to tell you that it might be.
Five years ago, I worked in the Civil Service and despite being a goverment department, we had to inform our callers that their calls might be recorded.
If I understand things correctly, we could've been sued, had we not had those warnings.
If the UK has rules and regulations about these things, I'm hardly surprised that the US has similar; so who is going to be the first to actually make a case of this?
As a non-US resident, I have to wonder exactly what press this is getting in more mainstream media outlets.
Can a US-based person give me an idea of what kind of reponse this decision is being met with beyond the internet?
Hell, is it getting any response at all?
Slashdot Mirror
Is this actually any different to walking down the street and being watched by people out of their windows?
I've spent years travelling into London and doing my thing. I spent six months living in London doing my thing.
How many people have seen me walking along the street and doing my thing? Probably millions. Can't say I'm the least bit bothered really.
The key difference is that UK regulations have already been passed to deal with the situation, whilst the NSA is doing things without seeking further approval.
I don't agree with the regulations (the voluntary code of practise is of course a joke) but they are lawful, whereas the NSA's 'ask for information' is apparently not.
A fine response, thank you.
I'd be a fool to tar everyone with the same brush. I have a lot of US-based friends, and in general they are fine, upstanding and generally decent folk.
It is interesting to catch CNN or Fox on satalite and compare the response to major news events. 'Feeding frenzy' is a wonderfully descriptive phrase, especially when compared to the BBC or ITN.
With regards to what 'The Bad Guys' are doing that requires invasive phone record monitoring, I think the NSA is barking up the wrong tree. In an age of the internet, mobile phones, VoIP and the like, it almost seems quaint to suggest that terrorists are using an inherantly 'risky' system.
Here in the UK, if calls are going to be monitored or recorded, companies must inform you *before* the call starts that it might happen. Even if that particular call isn't recorded, they still have to tell you that it might be.
Five years ago, I worked in the Civil Service and despite being a goverment department, we had to inform our callers that their calls might be recorded.
If I understand things correctly, we could've been sued, had we not had those warnings.
If the UK has rules and regulations about these things, I'm hardly surprised that the US has similar; so who is going to be the first to actually make a case of this?
As a non-US resident, I have to wonder exactly what press this is getting in more mainstream media outlets. Can a US-based person give me an idea of what kind of reponse this decision is being met with beyond the internet? Hell, is it getting any response at all?