E-reading isn’t reading.......

[SheilaT]

37. The claim is made that our government is continually

eavesdropping on telephone conversations and combing through billions of emails looking for key words that will make them examine such things more closely, ostensibly to catch terrorists. I have always had my doubts about their ability to go through the billions and billions of such things that happen every single day. But I'm not conversant with the current technology.

I can tell you that back in the 1960's, when I was a telephone operator, there was a persistent rumor both out in the real world and within Ma Bell itself, that the phone company had back offices where people constantly listened in on phone calls. I always thought that was utter nonsense, both from my understanding of what the technology was back then, and the sheer numbers of people who would have been needed to monitor any number of phone calls. That's why tapping a specific phone, whether done legally or otherwise, can be useful, although again monitoring it is tedious.

I suppose with current technology and computers, seeking out specific words or phrases is doable, but even then the actual listening or reading of the communications is not going to happen in real time.

I had not heard of the Brin book, and unfortunately, my library doesn't have it, and I've never mastered how they do interlibrary loan. I wonder if anyone has written on that topic more recently.