FBI Director James Comey Says: ‘There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America’

ABSOLUTE PRIVACY, I AM WORRIED ABOUT ANY PRIVACY …

Yesterday at the Boston Conference on Cyber Security, FBI Director James Comey said, “there is no such thing as absolute privacy in America.” This comes in the wake of the recent WikiLeaks data dump exposing CIA documents and the processes they use to spy on individuals using smart phones and TV’s. Comey and the intelligence community can down talk this all they want, but the fact of the matter is that most people do not expect “absolute privacy,” they expect the federal government to abide by the US Constitution. One has to wonder whether we can expect any privacy in this day and age.

Private citizens who have committed no crimes do not expect their data, conversations, emails, tweets, instant messages, whatever to be ease-dropped on by the government.

FBI Director James Comey warned Wednesday that Americans should not have expectations of “absolute privacy,” adding that he planned to finish his term leading the FBI.

“There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America; there is no place outside of judicial reach,” Comey said at a Boston College conference on cybersecurity. He made the remark as he discussed the rise of encryption since 2013 disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed sensitive US spy practices.

“Even our communications with our spouses, with our clergy members, with our attorneys are not absolutely private in America,” Comey added. “In appropriate circumstances, a judge can compel any one of us to testify in court about those very private communications.”

But, he also said Americans “have a reasonable expectation of privacy in our homes, in our cars, in our devices.
“It is a vital part of being an American. The government cannot invade our privacy without good reason, reviewable in court,” Comey continued.