Is it because he's black?

[thucythucy]

217. You may want to check that.

I've seen a number of people here post that they "never agreed to allow their information" to be shared with the government, or words to that effect. I'm assuming you mean to say that as well.

If that's the case, assuming then also that you checked "yes" to any of the standard telecom TOS's, you did in fact agree to allow your information to go to the NSA, if a warrant is produced.

For instance, Verizon's TOS says: "We collect personal information about you. We gather some information through our relationship with you, such as information about the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination and amount of your use of our telecommunications services.... By entering this Agreement, you consent to our data collection, use and sharing practices described in our Privacy Policy."

Okay, then about six mouse clicks later you come across the "Privacy Policy" page which tells you Verizon may share your account information "to comply with valid legal process including subpoenas, court orders or search warrants, and as otherwise authorized by law."

I think every telecom TOS you're likely to see includes some such statement, and the only way to get out of signing such an agreement is to not use ANY telecom service.

So yeah, there most likely was an "oh by the way" in whatever you agreed to. They just buried it in pages and pages of dense legalize and boilerplate the vast majority of people never bother to review before they click "yes."