General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants [View all]mwooldri
(10,818 posts)I have been convinced for years that the NSA, GCHQ, etc have had this ability.
With *all* voice traffic going through an Internet-like (or actual Internet) network, the term and act of "wiretapping" is obsolete. Hence there is now no need to get a wiretap warrant. The phonecalls are not encrypted. Most email isn't encrypted. Your text messages are not, and the contents of this website aren't either.
If you need to exchange email securely, get it encrypted. Sure, it can be intercepted and decrypted but the law about decrypting a message is different from intercepting it and reading it. Intercepting and decrypting an encrypted email is a very clear violation of the 4th Amendment. IMO doing what they're doing is a violation of the 4th Amendment anyway. Failing that, decrypting any encrypted message could be a violation of the DMCA. Or something.