>if you as an individual Citizen tell Facebook to do something, it will take one look at you and say 'bugger off'.
This.
In my own opinion @salawat's heart is in the right place, but his/her ideas are completely unworkable. Expecting a lone individual in Lincoln, or Birmingham, or Providence, or Dallas to be able to protect his or her rights against Facebook, in the absence of a federal government, is just naive.
The point I"m making is more along the lines that a slow consolidation of ultimate power at the Federal level is to be avoided.
The "Collective" Citizen, represented by the Federal Government, MUST be limited in it's ability to intrude in the affairs of the Individual Citizen.
Things like CALEA represent dangerous precedents and potentials for abuse that should require reaffirmation and consistent reevaluation in the light of advancing technology.
We all want a powerful and responsible government, but we have to weigh the dangers and potential for abuse in the long run against the short term gains from granting a new power with little or no constraint.
This.
In my own opinion @salawat's heart is in the right place, but his/her ideas are completely unworkable. Expecting a lone individual in Lincoln, or Birmingham, or Providence, or Dallas to be able to protect his or her rights against Facebook, in the absence of a federal government, is just naive.