1. criminals and terrorists are resorting to electronic communications - abandoning cell phones for VoiP (skype) type means. We need to be able to intercept these messages.
2. if you aren't doing anything wrong then it should be of no concern.
Gun lobby advocates use the same (il)logic....it is the "only criminals use guns to kill people so there is no reason to impose gun control..just don't sell guns to criminals".
I get the idea that law enforcement needs to have tools to go after terrorists and the local mafia thug. I don't like it that has to exist but I guess it does so that is part of the war on terrorism that we lost. It is the idea that it is justified by the assertion that if you are not doing anything wrong, you WON'T MIND. That is appalling to me.
A long time ago I sued my then attorney. I wasn't going to win but I wanted everyone on earth to know that this fellow goofed. The issue was that he let the opposition party in another civil action I was bringing look through my files kept at his office but he wasn't careful and not only did they look at the documents requested in discovery but he just put them in a room with all my files and they took some. I was making good progress in the court system until I ran into an appeals judge who said "If you had nothing to hide why would you mind who read your other files". I replied because they were private and not related. The judge repeated the question. I answered that a client had a reasonable right of the expectation of privacy when he put his files in the hands of his attorney...who for instance can't discuss anything without my permission and these files were essentially discussed without my permission. The judge said "well if you've done nothing wrong I can't see the harm".
That is where we are today. Right now. Just think about it.