One Nation, Under Surveillance

File this under "It Took 'em Long Enough". The government has found a great way to circumvent those pesky civil liberties and that whole "due process"/supeona rigamorole: cash on the nail. Why jump through legal hoops to get 2 million names of, let's say, scuba divers when you could just buy the data outright? Brilliant. Who could possibly refuse to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, especially if there's money to be made? Some companies are actually figuring in the sale of their customer data as part of their business model.

Many of us who make up the 280 million suspects, I mean citizens, of this country feel that "Hey, I've done nothing wrong. I never would do anything against my country. What do I care if the government tracks my data?" Well, former Department of Justice attorney Mark Rasch, tells us that federal agencies such as the FBI could ultimately share the databases they've built with other nations as a good-will gesture in the international fight against terrorism.

"A lot of people will say, 'What do I care that the FBI knows I took scuba lessons. But would they want the Iranian police to know that?" he said. "What if an agency, to foster cooperation with other intelligence agencies, shares the data with (Russia), who then shares it with Iranian intelligence. Then, one day, you visit Iran and they follow you around, or they detain you at the border...."

MSNBC - Are private firms helping Big Brother too much