NextGov reports that officials at a recent Intelligence and National Security Alliance symposium in Chantilly, Virginia discussed the widespread storage of child pornography on NSA and other military computer systems. Daniel Payne, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Service, reportedly said that “the amount of child porn [he sees on government devices] is just unbelievable.” An NSA official agreed, saying “what people do is amazing.”
It’s often difficult for us to pinpoint direct, personal harms from warrantless dragnet spying. Sure, policies like those established after 9/11 may threaten democratic, open society, freedom of speech, and due process. But for many of us, drawing a direct line between the erosion of democratic norms and our day-to-day lives can be challenging, if not impossible. It’s not hard, on the other hand, to imagine a government employee using his access to warrantless surveillance data to fish for bath-time photos of our naked children.
No comments:
Post a Comment