Quote:
Originally Posted by teh603
No cities in the US do, and a lot of citizens consider it an unacceptable violation of privacy. Nobody wants to be recorded going into a strip club or sex shop, because of the off chance their spouse might find out.
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I don't think it's just "doing evil" that we don't want the government watching. The whole reason there is such outcry against the whole phone records and Internet thing is because America was founded by people who knew what harm governments can do. Now maybe the government in power today will not abuse that information, but who's to say the next one won't? And what groups may be persecuted or found to be "suspicious" and worthy of extra scrutiny? Most innocent behavior, when viewed skeptically and not given the benefit of the doubt, can be considered worthy of prosecution by an over-eager government. Historically, ethnic, racial and religious groups have all been targeted by governments and have faced every form of persecution imaginable. Snooping on its citizens is a very valuable tool for totalitarianism.