Well guys, we had a good run at it. Couple hundred years. It was a nice go.
Now it's gone. Some people will say, "This isn't such a big deal, it's just the telcos. Sure they're assholes, but so what?"
Here's the "so what:"
Your right to private communication is now gone. From this point forward, you can not be sure that anything you say on a phone or on the internet isn't being logged, watched and listened to.
Try having a conversation with someone about a politician you're thinking about voting for or not voting for. They can now listen in on these phone calls. Send an email? Donate online?
People are talking about donating online to Act Blue. Well, first off, you've sent your bank information to make the transaction, so now they have your bank information. They also know that you're donating to a PAC that will work against them. Guess what, you just made your politician's shit list.
Planning a protest or strike is now impossible because the only way you can truly communicate with anyone privately is in person. You can't email them, you can't call them, and if you start asking a bunch of people to meet you at a certain place at a certain time, you could set off some bells and have someone show up to monitor you anyway.
The right to private communication is a fundamental right for maintaining a democracy. You cannot vote in your best interest if you are either being tapped or you are so concerned about being tapped that you're not willing to discuss issues over the phone or online.
This is the erosion of one of the most core rights of a free country. Without this, we the people will now be unable to meet or discuss limits on the government. That's it. Done.
We had a good run, but, just like the barbarians used the roads that Rome built to sack it, so the businesses and government used the telephone wires we communicate on to attack us. Best of luck to you guys, but America is now on the long, slow road in to a decline it won't come out of.