Eavesdroppers, data stealers and other voyeurs

When I was a kid and telephones were primitive, we knew that every phone call was overheard by the local operator who routed all calls to their intended destination (usually).

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She knew where you were, if you had company, who was sick, married, gave birth, or died. It was part of the fabric of our town. It wasn't until we got rotary dial phones, the switchboard closed and we eliminated party lines that we had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Our phone bills were between us and our carrier. Only if a warrant was obtained did law enforcement have any business in our business. The government never did. Fast forward to 2013 where the majority of phone calls leave our phone and bounce around through space until the land on the receiver. Logic tells us that we are now vulnerable to eavesdroppers, data stealers and other voyeurs. That certainly doesn't mean that the law or the government have any right to abuse the situation. And to you young folks who think all of this is no big deal or doesn't effect you, how would you like the government to tell your parents everything that happens on your cell phone? Shirley Reynolds

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