It's Too Late For President Obama To 'Dismantle' The NSA's Mass Surveillance

I should say up front that I'm a big supporter of Fight for the Future and the work they do, and while some may take this post as a slam on them, it is anything but. We're very much on the same page on nearly everything, but it caught my attention when FftF's Evan Greer wrote a piece asking President Obama to "shut down" the NSA's mass surveillance systems before Donald Trump gets control of it all. Specifically the article says "before it's too late." While I'd love to see Obama shut down the NSA's mass surveillance system, it's time to admit that it is too late. Anything the President does to that effect in this lame duck session can, and will, be reversed on day one of the Trump administration. Perhaps there's some value in the symbolic gesture, but let's face the facts: it's too late.

This is why we've been calling out illegal and warrantless surveillance all along -- from the Bush administration right through the Obama administration. And it's why it's been so damn frustrating to see people who flip flopped on these issues when "their guy" was in power (which, frankly, includes President Obama himself). Watching their expected flip flop back won't be any consolation. As we've said before, laws should always be designed as if the people we distrust the most are in power. Because one day, they will be.

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