What If PRISM existed during the Red Scare?

From the article: Conviction rates for espionage or sedition would be low. Embarrassingly low. However, convictions for possession of marijuana and copyright infringement would skyrocket.

And here we finally get to why a huge frickin, ritalin-infused dragnet with snakes for teeth and a laser strapped to its head will get lobbied into further existence. Legacy gatekeeper media needs deep packet inspection of every single packet to decide if "IP" "theft" is taking place. Getting such inspection funded by taxpayers means that "Rightsholders" don't have to pay much. Having a legal basis in place for such inspection decreases the "Rightsholder's" legal costs when the time comes to give us all 3 strikes or 6 strikes or whatever.