Reply to post: Re: Not one to take the G-Men's side very often, but within tight limits...

Re: Not one to take the G-Men's side very often, but within tight limits...

Everything in the article points to the use of tools and methods that are, at least on the face of it, already established and legitimate. There should be no controversy in requiring a warrant to gain this information and it should be considered worth noting that the information was brought to the attention of the public through legal means rather than extralegal. I certainly have no illusions that these methods cannot or will not be misused, but that in and of itself does not mean that it is wrong that they exist, just that they should used appropriately and that the public should have a right to be informed about their use and hold the ultimate power over it.

Here's the rub: the public that should be paying attention, caring about how this plays out, and has the most to lose through its abuse is the same public that is willing to give away all their rights for a few shiny baubles granted by Facebook, Google, et al. This is a problem of human nature and behavior, not of tools, laws or rights. It does not inspire confidence.

Also, this:

The first crime was the murder... the second an arson attack... the third, sexual battery... suggesting that the police force is using the approach to discover potentially incriminating evidence for increasingly less serious crimes.

Sorry, what?! Besides the awkward phrasing of ever increasing lessening (Updecreasingness? Superungrowing? How about "decreasingly"? ), all three of these crimes are all very serious. Nothing in the statement suggested that the police were in fact abusing their powers in these cases to go after significantly lesser crimes, only that the very real potential was there. That's the difference between "is" and "could". I tend not to criticize the articles themselves here on El Reg, but this was a lapse in logic and rigor of reporting that I am highlighting as a curmudgeonly service. Please feel free to down-vote. It is better than kicking a puppy though both activities may be monitored by the State.