Re: Missing the point
The cops should not be following anyone without good reason.
Yes and no.
If a cops see a guy climbing across a fence into someone's garden they used to be perfectly entitled to follow him for a bit. Until he tries to break in, then nab him in the act. That used to be the case and still is.
The question is how you define "climb over someone's garden fence" in digital terms. IMHO, if it is public it is fair game - they should be entitled to mine it and the usual suspects should not throw a spanner in the works. They can also "follow" said subject within what would would be considered public info flows. Trying to limit this and prohibit it means providing less law and order in the digital realm than in real life. We are accustomed to this by the way (it however is wrong in the long term).
If the info, however is private it is a search and the access standard should be a court order. Not a kangaroo court like FISA or a gruppenfuhrer order like RIPA - things which are largely a result of knee-jerk reactions.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
