>Are we ok having our 'privacy' at the cost of security?
Yes!
>The sad reality of our world is that there are terrorists,
Not very many of them. Your chance of being injured by a terrorist are basically zero.
>and they need/use things like email/chat/online forums/regular phones for communication.
They can also use things like coffee shops to talk in. We better get mics in there to record every conversation!
>So the question is where do you draw the line on what is acceptable/not.
I draw the line on none of it is acceptable. We're fighting a practically non-existent enemy. The government abusing this power is a vastly bigger threat and has already been happening for years.
The US government is simply too corrupt to be trusted with anything that avoids strict checks and balances. Why do you imagine the founding fathers put that stuff in there in the first place?
> if you are evading tax and the government finds out, this data cannot be permissible as evidence in court and/or used to prosecute.
For now. But that data will be there forever and attitudes on such things may change. And before you scream "ex post facto" I say look at the case of the guy accessing open AT&T links. That wasn't illegal when he did it, it became a crime well after the fact.
Yes!
>The sad reality of our world is that there are terrorists,
Not very many of them. Your chance of being injured by a terrorist are basically zero.
>and they need/use things like email/chat/online forums/regular phones for communication.
They can also use things like coffee shops to talk in. We better get mics in there to record every conversation!
>So the question is where do you draw the line on what is acceptable/not.
I draw the line on none of it is acceptable. We're fighting a practically non-existent enemy. The government abusing this power is a vastly bigger threat and has already been happening for years.
The US government is simply too corrupt to be trusted with anything that avoids strict checks and balances. Why do you imagine the founding fathers put that stuff in there in the first place?
> if you are evading tax and the government finds out, this data cannot be permissible as evidence in court and/or used to prosecute.
For now. But that data will be there forever and attitudes on such things may change. And before you scream "ex post facto" I say look at the case of the guy accessing open AT&T links. That wasn't illegal when he did it, it became a crime well after the fact.