I kinda like the melodrama as much as or more than the story (the us/nsa being evil is no surprise), because this is one of the most cyberpunk things to happen in the last few years (TPB and stuxnet being others). I mean, their last name is Snowden! I could not think of a better one if I tried.

not that your point of getting down to brass facts is unreasonable, but the hype is part of the story, and getting more people interested is maybe important in getting lawmakers to maybe pay attention)