Doesn’t the US have some sort of “fourth amendment” which prevents surveillance of its own citizens (who might become terrorists)? And, unlike spying on internet usage, people are going to be really aware of drones buzzing them.
No, it does not. The Fourth Amendment prevents “unreasonable searches and seizures”—there is no explicit right to privacy in the US Constitution. The Supreme Court managed to find one, though (via a “penumbra of rights”), for a specific politicized purpose, but hasn’t been willing to take it seriously otherwise.
There are a few current court cases against the NSA surveillance in the US, but none got anywhere so far.
Yes, but, as they say “the constitution isn’t a suicide pact” and if the only way to stop mass terrorist attacks in the U.S. is by trashing the fourth amendment, the fourth amendment will get trashed.
Doesn’t the US have some sort of “fourth amendment” which prevents surveillance of its own citizens (who might become terrorists)? And, unlike spying on internet usage, people are going to be really aware of drones buzzing them.
No, it does not. The Fourth Amendment prevents “unreasonable searches and seizures”—there is no explicit right to privacy in the US Constitution. The Supreme Court managed to find one, though (via a “penumbra of rights”), for a specific politicized purpose, but hasn’t been willing to take it seriously otherwise.
There are a few current court cases against the NSA surveillance in the US, but none got anywhere so far.
Yes, but, as they say “the constitution isn’t a suicide pact” and if the only way to stop mass terrorist attacks in the U.S. is by trashing the fourth amendment, the fourth amendment will get trashed.
Unfortunately, if this is the case people will probably only realise it after the first serious mass terrorist attacks.
I place a high probability on the NSA already doing things that pre-9/11 would have been considered gross violations of the fourth amendment.
As in, like, 99%? :-D That seems to be a “well, duh” observation.