Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush spoke at a security forum in South Carolina and told his audience he thinks that National Security Agency should have broad surveillance powers.
AP reports, “The former Florida governor said Congress should revisit its changes to the Patriot Act, and he dismissed concerns from civil libertarians who say the program violated citizens’ constitutionally protected privacy rights.”
“There’s a place to find common ground between personal civil liberties and NSA doing its job,” Bush said. “I think the balance has actually gone the wrong way.”
I guess it’s a family thing.
Apparently Jeb is trying to distinguish himself from the mob of people running for president, especially Donald Trump who is vacuuming up the media coverage.
Jeb also said that he is not aware of any instance where the NSA has violated any civil liberties.
Bush doubled-down Tuesday on his assertions that there is “no evidence” the data collection violated civil liberties. “I’ve found not one” case, he said.
Bush also criticized private companies for using encryption, making it harder for the government to snoop on internet users. “It makes it harder for the American government to do its job while protecting civil liberties to make sure evildoers aren’t in our midst,” he said. And we won’t know who the evildoers are until the government has the ability to violate your privacy to make sure you aren’t breaking any laws. What could go wrong?
Jeb went on to say that we need a “a new arrangement with Silicon Valley in this regard.” I think we all know what it means when the government tells you it’s time to sit down for a “new arrangement.”
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