Spy charges pit security against privacy

From BBC News:

In a country where privacy is an almost sacred right, a new suggestion that the US government is running a surveillance programme has explosive potential because it reaches into the home of every American...
Already a number of organisations have started or are planning legal challenges, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an internet advocacy group. It is suing AT&T in light of testimony from Mark Klein - a former technician turned whistleblower who claims the NSA has secret spying rooms inside the company's facilities. "It appears the NSA is capable of conducting what amounts to vacuum-cleaner surveillance of all the data crossing the internet, whether that be people's e-mail, Web surfing or any other data," Mr Klein said in a statement released by his lawyers.
The political implications may be more damaging than the legal challenges. US senators and congressman on both sides of the political divide reacted with alarm and outrage to the reports. Even a Republican leader in the House of Representatives, John Boehner - a close Bush ally, responded: "I'm very concerned about what I've heard ... I can't see why it would be necessary for us to keep and have this kind of information."