Unfortunately, any such debate is tacitly pushed aside every time there's another large attack. 9/11 made the PATRIOT act a no-brainer "yes" for nearly all politicians.
The tides are turning the other way because American hasn't had a mass-death attack since then, but that clock can very easily reset, unfortunately (as much as I hope it never will).
Interestingly, the use of fearmongering and misplaced patriotism by the government to accelerate the other negative impacts of IT on civil rights is about the only thing the article didn't anticipate.
The tides are turning the other way because American hasn't had a mass-death attack since then, but that clock can very easily reset, unfortunately (as much as I hope it never will).