Funmurphys: the Blog

Nobody Here But An NSA Agent

Back in the day when phone companies ruled (you know, when a hip movie like The President's Analyst could cast "The Phone Company" as the ultimate villain) there was a clear division in phone calls - domestic (between two phones in the same United States), and international (between a phone in the US and a phone in a different country). Yet I keep reading in the news about how the NSA is conducting domestic spying on international calls -- you know, between a phone in the US and a phone in a different country. I wonder if they use a TARDIS to accomplish that trick? While I can't read minds, I'm inclined to think such a mischaracterization is a deliberate attempt to sway your opinion.

Now if you're not a legal expert (just like me) there are a lot of competing claims - generally along partisan lines with the left claiming malfeasence and the right claiming prudence. The legal experts have shown more heat than light on the issue, and it seems to me you can pick your answer by picking your legal beagle.

But I'm a scientist masquarading as an Engineer, so I asked my self, what would Albert do? Why, a thought experiment of course! But in place of a phone call between two countries, I place myself, a US citizen, on a trip between two countries. And since I have indeed traveled internationally (before the War on Terror), between a variety of countries, it's a well grounded thought experiment. On the outbound leg, I leave the United States, and the only check is by the airlines to make sure I have a passport and if required in the destination country a valid visa. They do this because if I arrive without such necessities, they have to send me back at their own expense. When I arrive at my destination, however, I am subject to not just questioning, but search of not just my belongings, but my person. Even local military escort, which was able to take us to the head of the line in Pakistan, was unable to circumvent the searching of our luggage. In Europe, I received the most scrutiny in England (because of my name), and the least in Switzerland. The return, however, is different than the departure, as despite the fact I'm a US citizen on US soil, I am once again subject to questions, and to the search, not only of my property, but of my person, at the discression of a US government employee, and without a warrant. I got the most thorough going over upon my returns from Pakistan and the most perfunctory from Canada.

So I'm supposed to get excited because the NSA is listening into international phone calls without a warrant, but there is no excitement over my warrentless search when I physically travel internationally? So why are my phone calls more priveleged than me? Well, we have a pretty good understanding how helpful such border control can be when it comes to the physical, but some people don't seem to see that when it comes to communications.

Look, I'm not happy about such searches (especially when I'm going through them, and I'll never forget the asshole agent in Hawaii) but I understand they occur simply because it's the only way to enforce the law. It's not because of the badness of government, but the badness of people.