I think "back door and they read every message covertly" that the parent post was referring to SMS messages only. In that respect I think he's correct. I do agree that the wording is a bit strange/misleading, because it kind of suggests that your Signal messages could be read as well.

> In late 2001, the NSA was authorized to monitor, without obtaining a FISA warrant, the phone calls, Internet activity, text messages and other communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lay within the U.S.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSA_warrantless_surveillance_(...

And nobody is at risk to be jailed for opposing a war.. or just calling it a war.

> "there is no section of the PATRIOT Act that includes..."

DHS often flouts the law. (You aren't wrong, but I'm just saying.)

> That would go even beyond the wildest accusations of domestic dragnet surveillance

I definitely would not agree with that.

They might not quite have this level of surveillance, but they're probably not too far away, either. And there will be actors within the bureaucracy pushing to increase surveillance as far as they possibly can.

The US Federal bureaucracy is grossly out of control and serves its own interests, which aren't those of the citizens or the states.

When you look at tax policy in particular, you see that the states are effectively colonies of the Federal government and bureaucracy.