After a few days of coverage most Americans are now aware the NSA is collecting data about their phone calls. All of them. Two polls were conducted to gauge public response to this revelation and found that most Americans, about 53%, do not believe the program invades people's privacy. Of those, 41% "feel it is a necessary tool to combat terrorism."

White House staff and supporters of the Administration crowed at this and an earlier poll which showed that 63% of Americans - who have no understanding of the Fourth Amendment - support the program. The rationale I've encountered on various boards and community sites for this view is: "I've got nothing to hide. I'm not a terrorist, so I don't care."

The media has told Americans the NSA is collecting statistics only. Phone numbers, number of calls to specific numbers, duration of calls and the like. And no doubt this is what was considered during the taking of these polls. But there's another dataset collected by the NSA via the telecom industry that has yet to be reported: IP addresses.

Does Joe-Six-Pack still not mind that the NSA is collecting a record of every website he goes to, how often, and for how long? Does Joe know how long this record will be archived? Does he care who has access to it, or are the employees of one government agency just as trustworthy as the next? Is Joe confident that this record will remain secret for as long as it's held? Does it matter if it gets released or compromised one day? Should this record be considered if Joe's company gets a government contract, or if he applies for a federal job? How about a passport? Does Joe still not care about the NSA surveillance program because he's not a terrorist?

Happy web surfing!

Labels: Information Security, nsa, tia, warrantless wiretaps