How the media whips up a frenzy through senationalism.
Many people have read scary headlines like this recently:
EXCLUSIVE - U.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans' finances
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/usa-banks-spying-idINDEE92C0EH20130313
This sets off an almost Pavlovian response--comparisons of Obama to Cheney, Big Brother references, concerns about drones, etc.
The first two paragraphs are also intended to troll/draw readers in:
The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.
The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence. The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is nonetheless likely to trigger intense criticism from privacy advocates
Scary, right?
What is this database that should be off-limits to the government?
Financial institutions that operate in the United States are required by law to file reports of "suspicious customer activity," such as large money transfers or unusually structured bank accounts, to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
That's right. It's a
government database. Not only is it a
government database, it's a LAW ENFORCEMENT database. It's specifically created to help the government identify and prosecute suspicious transactions, usually related to money laundering.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation already has full access to the database. However, intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, currently have to make case-by-case requests for information to FinCEN.
That's right. The FBI can type in their login codes, and they get full access to the database already. Every single transaction. This is essentially about the FBI and Treasury Department sharing a law enforcement database with counterterrorism units inside the NSA and CIA.
By the way, unless you're in the habit of making $15,000 cash deposits or withdrawals from your bank, you're probably not in this database.
Obviously, there need to be proper controls. But this database is owned by the government, and is already used by law enforcement without needing a warrant or permission from the courts.
So, this rumored proposal is not much of a development, unless people are perfectly cool with the FBI having this information but not the NSA.
Notice that they wait until the third paragraph--after throwing alarmist language in there--before informing readers that the government owns the database in question. And that they wait until the fourth to inform readers that the FBI already has unlimited access to it.
Reuters was trolling its readers.