The Government's Secret 'Google Search' Warrant Trap

It's been 20 years since 9/11, which means it's also been 20 years since America's public debates about government surveillance under laws like the PATRIOT Act. It's a bit amusing to look back and see commentators clashing over hot-button topics like whether the government should have access to things like library records. Two decades, two (plus) wars, and too many exposed warrantless government surveillance programs later, the idea that the biggest threat to liberty is Uncle Sam scrounging around to find out who checked out chemistry books from a Connecticut branch library is almost charming. We have surveillance fatigue. A lot of people just assume that everything they do online is immediately hoovered up and stored in some massive desert National Security Agency data center for eternity. It's not a bad heuristic, but there are still some procedural hurdles for the feds to get their hands on what they want.-- More...