WASHINGTON, DC -- Has the government forever crossed a line between the people's right to privacy and a government's right to know?
The phone records of millions of people seized, justified only for a national security investigation.
Jim Astrachan, a nationally recognized communications lawyer, says, "What else is the government taking, why is the government going to get an order, if it knows that is has the right to the telephone numbers, what else is it getting?"
Astrachan absolutely believes the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizures, has been watered down.
Newt Gingrich weighed in on the subject.
"The problem is, given everything we've learned recently about the bureaucracy, why would you trust them?" Gingrich said.
But can your right of privacy still exist in the eyes of the government?
"These shocking and stunning revelations confirms everybody's fears that Big Brother is watching and now Big Brother is listening," said David Williams, with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
The top secret court order obtained by the National Security Agency does not permit listening in on the conversations, but rather the collection of all metadata: where was the call made, to what number did it go, where was the called physically located.
And the government wants to continue prying into laptops and other electronic devices for anyone coming into the country.
The Department of Homeland Security argues it needs to track everyone from child pornographers to terrorists.
Astrachan suspects lawmakers will grab hold of this latest document snoop and try to make laws more restrictive -- that is, unless the government provides a good reason why it's eavesdropping on millions of our neighbors and coworkers.
The phone records of millions of people seized, justified only for a national security investigation.
Jim Astrachan, a nationally recognized communications lawyer, says, "What else is the government taking, why is the government going to get an order, if it knows that is has the right to the telephone numbers, what else is it getting?"
Astrachan absolutely believes the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizures, has been watered down.
Newt Gingrich weighed in on the subject.
"The problem is, given everything we've learned recently about the bureaucracy, why would you trust them?" Gingrich said.
But can your right of privacy still exist in the eyes of the government?
"These shocking and stunning revelations confirms everybody's fears that Big Brother is watching and now Big Brother is listening," said David Williams, with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
The top secret court order obtained by the National Security Agency does not permit listening in on the conversations, but rather the collection of all metadata: where was the call made, to what number did it go, where was the called physically located.
And the government wants to continue prying into laptops and other electronic devices for anyone coming into the country.
The Department of Homeland Security argues it needs to track everyone from child pornographers to terrorists.
Astrachan suspects lawmakers will grab hold of this latest document snoop and try to make laws more restrictive -- that is, unless the government provides a good reason why it's eavesdropping on millions of our neighbors and coworkers.
