Until the government decides you are inconvenient and "leaks" embarrassing data to the press.
Or, alternatively, how long before a socially conservative Congress decides parents/friends/potential employers have a right to know if someone is engaged in un-Christian behavior? The fear alone could make a more moral world (and depending on your level of crazy, help cut the deficit as we won't have to pay to clean up after natural disasters, God's punishment for immorality). We could end homosexuality, abortion, pornography, sexting, and atheism by ensuring their practitioners are too afraid to communicate. Texting and the internet paved the way for the moral decline of America, and this lazy, entitled generation is running amuck with no fear of God. We can fix that! We could even publish a registry of romantic relationships which don't lead to marriages. A list of who's had an abortion (horray for electronic health records!). Parents could retain control of their children through college and early adulthood by threatening to cut them off if electronic communications reveal undesirable behavior. You could have tax incentives for businesses that hire straight, monogamous churchgoers (geofencing) who don't watch porn.
None of this would run afoul of the Constitution, as there is no restriction of speech or religious freedom, just the sharing of third party business records.
Or, alternatively, how long before a liberal Congress decides people have a right to know if politicians and employers make racist remarks by text message or post pseudonymously on neo-Nazi forums? Which lobbyists call them, how often, and for how long? If the children of anti-gay rights campaigners are secretly gay? You could surveil private businesses to make sure they're paying their workers equally, and not talking about trying to cheat safety or monopoly regulations. Imagine an inside look at the discussions behind every hiring decision!
Yeah, it's a little farfetched. But we seem to be okay with intercepting this data and using it in our collective interests. So far, that's just security, and my objections aren't terribly strong. But I encourage everyone to look at the incredible power of rural America in Congress (see corn subsidies) and think hard about what else the Values Voters and Focus on the Family might get written into law as our best interests.
Until the government decides you are inconvenient and "leaks" embarrassing data to the press.
Or, alternatively, how long before a socially conservative Congress decides parents/friends/potential employers have a right to know if someone is engaged in un-Christian behavior? The fear alone could make a more moral world (and depending on your level of crazy, help cut the deficit as we won't have to pay to clean up after natural disasters, God's punishment for immorality). We could end homosexuality, abortion, pornography, sexting, and atheism by ensuring their practitioners are too afraid to communicate. Texting and the internet paved the way for the moral decline of America, and this lazy, entitled generation is running amuck with no fear of God. We can fix that! We could even publish a registry of romantic relationships which don't lead to marriages. A list of who's had an abortion (horray for electronic health records!). Parents could retain control of their children through college and early adulthood by threatening to cut them off if electronic communications reveal undesirable behavior. You could have tax incentives for businesses that hire straight, monogamous churchgoers (geofencing) who don't watch porn.
None of this would run afoul of the Constitution, as there is no restriction of speech or religious freedom, just the sharing of third party business records.
Or, alternatively, how long before a liberal Congress decides people have a right to know if politicians and employers make racist remarks by text message or post pseudonymously on neo-Nazi forums? Which lobbyists call them, how often, and for how long? If the children of anti-gay rights campaigners are secretly gay? You could surveil private businesses to make sure they're paying their workers equally, and not talking about trying to cheat safety or monopoly regulations. Imagine an inside look at the discussions behind every hiring decision!
Yeah, it's a little farfetched. But we seem to be okay with intercepting this data and using it in our collective interests. So far, that's just security, and my objections aren't terribly strong. But I encourage everyone to look at the incredible power of rural America in Congress (see corn subsidies) and think hard about what else the Values Voters and Focus on the Family might get written into law as our best interests.