[Music] now that nearly all of us are online connected or digital in some way spies are no longer watching just one or two bad guys instead the UK and US governments are both collecting massive amounts of information from the things we do on our phones and over the internet there are two main ways they get hold of this information one way is working with the companies that run these systems and tap the cables that are vital for moving all this information around they can then sift through the huge amount of data they gather and all
the messages that are there and store them in massive computer databases their other technique involves using their relationships with technology companies to get hold of things like emails messages or other information straight from their us [Music] servers the spy agencies do throw away most of the content they collect they keep that on their systems for about 3 days then discard everything that's not from one of their targets metadata though who sent a message who it was to when it was sent and more is a different matter the agencies keep almost all the metadata they see
for around a month in the UK and up to a year in the US that lets them build up profiles of millions of people who talks to who who knows who and where people are if need be these Revelations pose many questions what is the balance between our right to privacy and the Authority's duty to protect us governments in America and the UK argue that these surveillance programs help keep us safe from terrorism but what happens if you're wrongly accused and should we just accept that the internet is now a different place run by businesses
and governments who can monitor it how they like now that you know you're being watched how does that change your behavior how you talk to your friends and how much you trust the world around you these Revelations have changed the internet for us forever does privacy have a future online at all [Music]
