The private sector angle is even more disconcerting than the Federal Government in this Surveillance State dynamic. Theoretically the Federal Government is there to protect the American People, I don't feel the same way about entities in the Private Sector. Things that we need to know, but are probably classified Top Secret as well are:
- Do the contractors that the US Government employs operate under an exclusivity agreement, or are they free to contract their services out to other entities as well to Foreign Governments, Transnational Business, private individuals?
- What rights do the Private Sector entities who gather data have to leverage financial benefit from gathered sources in the Free Market? IE - could a law firm investigating a case retain a Government information gathering entity to rifle through emails of witnesses in a court case?
In short, even though these Programs are classified as "Government Programs" they actually aren't for they use private sector businesses to engage in the information gathering. What oversight does the US Government have over these contractors, or do they even bother with oversight?
These questions should be asked, but I am 100% confident that no one in the Federal Government has the lawful right to answer them.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
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