President-elect Donald Trump is Russiaonly months away from wielding the power of American intelligence agencies, including the NSA's mass surveillance operation.
Many people on Twitter have already begun to voice their concern.
SEE ALSO: This t-shirt is the scary logical endpoint of Trump’s media tantrumsThis, they've said, is what happens when a complacent nation allows the construction of a legally dubious mass-surveillance system under a president not generally viewed as irresponsible. Then, when the reigns of the country are handed to a man whose campaign staffers wouldn't even allow him the use of his own Twitter account in the lead-up to the election, it's too late to do much.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
If it's terrifying to imagine Trump in charge of history's most expansive & penetrating surveillance apparatus, perhaps it should not exist.
— Sam Adler-Bell (@SamAdlerBell) November 8, 2016
President Obama signed into law new surveillance restrictions in 2015 that limited government access to phone records, but the American surveillance apparatus extends far beyond access to phone records.
The NSA can request data from massive companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook, and the companies are forced by law to comply.
The agency has a program called XKeyscore that allows it to track an internet user's every move.
The NSA gathers text messages and has a team of hackers to break into data the agency can't readily access.
These are just a few examples from one agency, and we only know about them because former NSA contractor Edward Snowden fed this information to publications such as The Guardianback in 2013.
Snowden, it turns out, also warned us that we were just an election away from surveillance-based tyranny.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
"A new leader will be elected, they'll flip the switch, say that because of the crisis, because of the dangers that we face in the world -- some new and unpredicted threat -- we need more authority, we need more power," Snowden said in 2013. "And there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it."
Topics Privacy X/Twitter Donald Trump
The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2017
Four Poets Discuss Their Favorite Photographs
How to watch 'Elemental' on Disney+: release date, streaming deals, and more
The Morning News Roundup for December 12, 2014
The Made in America iPhone: How much would it cost?
How Should We Mourn the Death of Local Institutions?
10 ways you can support teachers this school year
How to Build a Better Time Capsule
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K deal: Get 40% off
How to Build a Better Time Capsule
Mary Shows Up
'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 9, 2023
Attending the 2014 Objectivist Conference
How Should We Mourn the Death of Local Institutions?
This is the fattest of the extremely fat bears
SantaCON Is Coming, and We All Must Suffer
The Morning News Roundup for December 17, 2014
Update your iPhone now to fix this critical security flaw
Bomb Envy
TikTok's version of the photo dump finds beauty in the mundane
Writers’ Fridges: Ottessa MoshfeghPornhub blocks Utah because of age verification lawA Life of Reading Is Never LonelyThe Hardest GuessOn Stanley Kunitz and the Fine Arts Work Center by Geoffrey HilsabeckEarly Cyber Monday: Dyson Airwrap multiWhy All the Books About Motherhood?Tommy Orange and the New Native Renaissance by Julian Brave NoiseCatHow TikTok turned reading into an aestheticDoja Cat, Lil Nas X and more 2023 Met Gala cat looksHow Well Do You Know These Writers’ Lives?How to Write a Feminist “Dead Girl” StoryBest early Cyber Monday tablet deals for 202324 of the spiciest emoji for when you definitely mean masturbationThe Saddest Children’s Book in the World by Yevgeniya TrapsThe internet goes wild over a bonkers NFL Draft Round 1Target's sale is live — check out the deals ahead of Cyber MondayWriters’ Fridges: Ottessa MoshfeghStaff Picks: Laughing Cows, LoEdouard Louis and Abdellah Taïa in Conversation Amazon appears to retaliate against employee climate change activists IHG is offering 25% savings on your summer stay Wordle today: The answer and hints for May 14 Hinge tests Your Turn Limits feature to 'reduce burnout' China Literature to acquire Tencent Animation and Comics for $84 million · TechNode Huawei releases smart driving app HIMA · TechNode Huawei to establish its first overseas factory in France · TechNode Horizon Robotics invests in Didi’s self OpenAI introduces GPT EHang delivers its first unpiloted passenger OpenAI livestream: GPT WeChat to charge security deposits on short drama Thai company reportedly claims $2.86 billion in compensation from Luckin Coffee · TechNode Alibaba appoints six young leaders to oversee key operations at Taobao and Tmall · TechNode Shutting down coal plants saved 26,610 American lives over a decade JD Logistics upgrades “next Watch SpaceX appear to nail its final test for sending people to space China aims to boost the gaming market after new gaming rules hit Tencent and NetEase · TechNode Greta Thunberg nails the #2019in5words challenge Temu launches new legal fight against Shein in the US · TechNode