[gosu]

> Why not?

Obvious ethical considerations. I'm sick of living on the death star.

It doesn't seem possible to me that any non-transparent organization with such capabilities will ever live up to some promise to "just spy on brown people". In Snowden's words: "policy protection is no protection — policy is a one-way ratchet that only loosens".

I don't think foreign spy programs are relevant to this discussion. If Pakistan jumped off a bridge, would you follow?

> The main threats in the world are no longer just states

The main threats in the news are no longer just states, that's all. A few people commit criminal acts in a foreign country somtimes. Meanwhile, states have nuclear weapons and are very often in a state of war.

> That same relationship does not exist [for foreign citizens].

Perhaps it should. Your reasoning was developed back when packets had their ping measured in years. One very simple reason to call Snowden a hero is that I want US tech companies to be trusted and to thus prosper, because I want to work for them.

In general, it upsets me that some narrative has taken hold where, because "non-US persons" are on the internet, it's OK for a non-transparent agency to listen to everything on the internet, and high treason for someone to attempt to save me from it. Living in China for a couple days and talking to the news isn't "going to the enemy", as you'd so like me to see it.