25 Years of Mass Surveillance Is Enough [Auth: Cindy Cohn; Bruce Schneier]

Cindy Cohn and Bruce Schneier argue that 25 years of mass surveillance by the US government is a clear overreach of power. They point to the USA PATRIOT Act, which allowed for the collection of phone records and internet data, as the catalyst for this expansion of surveillance. The authors note that this surveillance has been used for purposes beyond national security, including law enforcement and crony capitalism. They also mention the ongoing debate over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for the collection of communications of non-US citizens abroad. Cohn and Schneier conclude that this level of surveillance is not only unnecessary but also incompatible with democratic values.