posted on Dec, 7 2009 @ 12:24 PM
This is a problem and is part of a bigger trend merging corporations with the state (the classic definition of fascism put forward by Mussolini).
In the old days the police had to apply for a warrant to access phone records. I think the same rules should apply now.
Even under the old rules the police were privy to personal information that they would never come across in another line of work. A simple request to
Yahoo, without requiring a warrent is going way too far in granting access to people's private lives.
Some people think, "It's OK. I'm not doing anything wrong anyway. The only people that have to worry are the crooks." This is an extemely naive
viewpoint. Suppose the crooks are in the police force? At least under the old system of warrants, it would be clear that information was acquired for
legitimate police investigative purposes (most of the time).
It is well known that numerous police forces have been infiltrated not only by bad apples, who could turn up in any walk of life, but also organized
crime connected persons, who could be asked by their real bosses to get any sort of information accessible to the police.
Under the warrant system someone was, however casually, watching the watchers. What's going on now?
[edit on 7-12-2009 by ipsedixit]