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"internet was considered a baseless conspiracy" I never met anyone who said it was a conspiracy theory that the intelligence agencies would listen in to everyt

"internet was considered a baseless conspiracy" I never met anyone who said it was a conspiracy theory that the intelligence agencies would listen in to everything on the internet and fullfilling their self stated purpose [0]. Even my mother thinks that is their job. But it seems you have met people that claim the NSA doing it's job is a conspiracy theory. What would those people say the job and purpose of the NSA is to explain it's existence? [0] "The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) leads the U.S. Government in cryptology that encompasses both signals intelligence (SIGINT) [1] and information assurance (now referred to as cybersecurity) products and services, and enables computer network operations (CNO) in order to gain a decision advantage for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances." https://www.nsa.gov/about/mission-values/ https://www.nsa.gov/about/mission-values/ [1] "Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether communications between people or from electronic signals not directly used in communication" Wikipedia

commoner 7y ago
It's easy to forget how things were before the Snowden revelations, since Internet privacy issues have been covered much more extensively by the media since then. (Edited to add "Internet" above.) > Until Snowden, the idea that Western governments would routinely collect, store, and analyze our personal data sounded like a conspiracy theory to many people. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/the-snowden-legacy-part-one-whats-changed-really/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/the-snowden-lega... > The revelations were shocking: the scope and depth of the NSA’s collection of private data stopped looking like a conspiracy theory and became a cold, hard reality we all had to face. https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5224680/the-year-in-review-the-biggest-stories-of-2013 https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5224680/the-year-in-revi... > There was a time when the idea that the U.S. government might spy on your web activity might have seemed like a far-fetched conspiracy theory. > But that was before Edward Snowden. https://computer.howstuffworks.com/government-see-website.htm https://computer.howstuffworks.com/government-see-website.ht...
- _Codemonkeyism 7y ago
  "It's easy to forget how things were before the Snowden revelations, since privacy issues have been covered much more extensively by the media since then." No it's not. I can't find any data to this narrative. There were (media) discussions on the government collecting all the data it can in the 70s, and they come up with every census. There have been huge discussions around ECHOLON. There have been huge discussions about COINTELPRO. Shocking to whom? I never met anyone who was shocked. Did you? Were YOU shocked by the fact that the NSA was listening in on the internet? Was your mom shocked that the government listened in on the internet? Who are those "many people"? Is there a poll or any substantial data? I really would like to hear from someone who thinks that it was a conspiracy theory that the NSA was listening in on the internet and then was shocked by the Snowden revelations. I've read all three articles and none has any data or facts about the "many people" or any sources. What are many people? Where does this come from? The parent comment claims: "considered a baseless conspiracy theory before the Snowden leaks." Considered by whom? EDIT: Ok, thanks telling me you were shocked that the NSA was listening in on the internet. I would not have thought that someone on HN was shocked, especially after ECHOLON - I stand corrected.
  - commoner 7y ago
    The key words in here are "scope and depth". Before Snowden, the idea that the American government would collect the communications of hundreds of millions of people who are not under investigation en masse was considered a conspiracy theory by the average American Internet user. I'm not aware of any studies done on this topic, but it's a common sense observation. Yes, I was shocked by the PRISM disclosures in 2013. Feel free to contact the authors of these articles if you want to argue with them, since they agree. Edit: You apparently disliked my replies enough to downvote all of my recent comments on other threads.
    - _Codemonkeyism 7y ago
      I've upvoted your replies, because I stand corrected as I've said. My comments though have tanked Karma.
  - 7y ago

commoner 7y ago

It's easy to forget how things were before the Snowden revelations, since Internet privacy issues have been covered much more extensively by the media since then. (Edited to add "Internet" above.) > Until Snowden, the idea that Western governments would routinely collect, store, and analyze our personal data sounded like a conspiracy theory to many people. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/the-snowden-legacy-part-one-whats-changed-really/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/the-snowden-lega... > The revelations were shocking: the scope and depth of the NSA’s collection of private data stopped looking like a conspiracy theory and became a cold, hard reality we all had to face. https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5224680/the-year-in-review-the-biggest-stories-of-2013 https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5224680/the-year-in-revi... > There was a time when the idea that the U.S. government might spy on your web activity might have seemed like a far-fetched conspiracy theory. > But that was before Edward Snowden. https://computer.howstuffworks.com/government-see-website.htm https://computer.howstuffworks.com/government-see-website.ht...

_Codemonkeyism 7y ago
"It's easy to forget how things were before the Snowden revelations, since privacy issues have been covered much more extensively by the media since then." No it's not. I can't find any data to this narrative. There were (media) discussions on the government collecting all the data it can in the 70s, and they come up with every census. There have been huge discussions around ECHOLON. There have been huge discussions about COINTELPRO. Shocking to whom? I never met anyone who was shocked. Did you? Were YOU shocked by the fact that the NSA was listening in on the internet? Was your mom shocked that the government listened in on the internet? Who are those "many people"? Is there a poll or any substantial data? I really would like to hear from someone who thinks that it was a conspiracy theory that the NSA was listening in on the internet and then was shocked by the Snowden revelations. I've read all three articles and none has any data or facts about the "many people" or any sources. What are many people? Where does this come from? The parent comment claims: "considered a baseless conspiracy theory before the Snowden leaks." Considered by whom? EDIT: Ok, thanks telling me you were shocked that the NSA was listening in on the internet. I would not have thought that someone on HN was shocked, especially after ECHOLON - I stand corrected.
- commoner 7y ago
  The key words in here are "scope and depth". Before Snowden, the idea that the American government would collect the communications of hundreds of millions of people who are not under investigation en masse was considered a conspiracy theory by the average American Internet user. I'm not aware of any studies done on this topic, but it's a common sense observation. Yes, I was shocked by the PRISM disclosures in 2013. Feel free to contact the authors of these articles if you want to argue with them, since they agree. Edit: You apparently disliked my replies enough to downvote all of my recent comments on other threads.
  - _Codemonkeyism 7y ago
    I've upvoted your replies, because I stand corrected as I've said. My comments though have tanked Karma.
- 7y ago