NSA searches content of emails

"We don't spy on US citizens"..
We only read their emails and text messages..

N.S.A. Said to Search Content of Messages to and From U.S.

In this article the NYT reveals how the NSA searches emails and text messages for terrorist activities (and whatever else they want).

They search the content!.. Not just meta-data.

The National Security Agency is searching the contents of vast amounts of Americans’ e-mail and text communications into and out of the country, hunting for people who mention information about foreigners under surveillance, according to intelligence officials.

Read the rest of the article for an education in newspeak and doublethink as the NSA official tries to wriggle out of it without confirming or denying.

reply to post by tyfon


Again, the reinforcement on it being limited to communique with foreign targets. I really question that though as some of the behaviors of the major email hosts has been rather curious over the last year or so. One of the things that I've noted was the forcing of associations both within and among the major entities involved in the NSA scandal. For instance, Google will repeatedly request confirmation that a yahoo email address is associated with an user of one of its services (Gmail and Youtube). I found that rather curious considering that kind of information really shouldn't be any of Google's business when it's involving an account with a separate entity. Not to mention the almost peer pressure way in which Google was essentially trying to push people into providing their real names for their Youtube accounts (kind of "if you don't do it, you must be using your account to bully and say terrible things" remarks). In a way, it's a lazy man's way of building associations. My guess is that it will come out that they have been examining the online behavior of US citizens on the net because one thing that I have seen a whole lot of over the last couple years is talk of revolution, overthrow, and etc. You bet they are interested in that kind of chatter.

Whole thing from beginning to end is obnoxious and I'm quite glad that my usage of email is down to nearly zero (just public school announcements and spam).

Wait a minute...Let me get this straight..Do you mean to tell us the government lied to us? Balderdash!

reply to post by IAMTAT


Shocking isn't it?!

But in their eyes it's not a lie. They just redefine the words in the laws to mean something else and it's perfectly lawfull.
And blast that Snowden for spreading propaganda against the US democracy!

reply to post by tyfon

I assume they're trying to get out in front of more upcoming Snowden releases.