the.com/wiretapping
the government's oldest way of reading your mail without opening the envelope.
means secretly intercepting phone, internet, or other communications, usually by law enforcement or intelligence agencies, often requiring a court order.
from literally began with clipping actual copper telegraph and phone wires in the 1890s to listen in; the tech changed, the name stuck even after wires became fiber and radio waves.
first supreme court caseolmstead v. united states, 1928, ruled it legal
reversed bykatz v. united states, 1967, created privacy expectation
law behind it1968 wiretap act requires warrant for real-time interception
loopholemetadata collection often skips warrant requirements entirely
for instance
nixon and watergate — illegal taps on democratic hq, 1972, ended a presidency
nsa prism program — exposed by snowden in 2013, mass internet surveillance
fbi carnivore system — 1990s email interception tool installed at isps
news of the world — phone hacking scandal, 2011, shut down a 168-year-old paper