If this doesn't piss you off, you're crazy (.com)

Ok, THIS HORRIFYING ARTICLE from wired.com is enough to make you want to go off the grid permanently.
The Basics:

• We trust big telecom and internet companies to provide mild levels of privacy as we throw our personal data all over the web.
  
• The government wants to know who/what/when/where we call or email each other
• The telecom and internet companies want to sell that information to them . . .so they do.
• We simply want to know how much money the companies make selling our privacy.
• They say that if they release that information . . . what they sell to the government, and for how much, it would undermine our trust in thier ability to provide privacy to their customers.

Says verizon in their response:

"Other customers, upon seeing the types of surveillance law enforcement can do, might “become unnecessarily afraid that their lines have been tapped or call Verizon to ask if their lines are tapped (a question we cannot answer)."

Says Yahoo:

"Therefore, release of Yahoo!’s information is reasonably likely to lead to impairment of its reputation for protection of user privacy and security, which is a competitive disadvantage for technology companies,"

 . . . great.  You don't want to release your price sheets because YOU THINK YOUR CUSTOMERS WOULD GO APE SHIT NINJA? 

Probably we would.  WE PAY TO BE SPIED ON BY OUR GOVERNMENT.  WE PAY.  Through taxes, and fees from the companies themselves as they collect the data.  And no one is saying how much.

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