WHAT IS IT?

 

Your telephone conversations are tapped all the time. Every time you call a customer service line, there’s a possibility your conversation is being recorded for later reference or monitored by a manager. Typically, you’re informed of this activity by a short recording at the beginning of the call, but not necessarily. Only twelve states currently require that both parties be aware of monitoring. If you live in one of the other thirty-eight, anyone you call could record everything you say.

In most democratic countries, it’s illegal to tap telecommunications without the knowledge of the subject or a court order. Privacy being one of the pillars of democracy, free nations tend to be pretty sensitive about this kind of thing.

Richard Nixon never cared about things like privacy and democracy. He cared about power and keeping his enemies list up to date. Nixon, G. Gordon Liddy, and Henry Kissinger teamed up to goad the FBI into illegally tapping just about every phone in Washington, D.C. It started with Justice Department staffers Nixon suspected of leaking information about his illegal napalming of Cambodian villages. Then it progressed to reporters critical of the Vietnam War. He installed wiretaps and listening devices inside the White House, even going so far as to spy on himself. When it came time to run for re-election, it seemed like a no-brainer to spy on the Democrats.

The guys who got busted for the Watergate break-in were only the last of several teams to visit the Democratic campaign headquarters after hours. Previous teams had installed listening devices around the office in an attempt to catch the Democratic Party leadership performing a Satanic ritual or holding gay marriage ceremonies or something equally evil. The scandal sent several administration officials to prison, forced Nixon to resign, and destroyed trust in the federal government—already eroded by Vietnam—for generations.

Many countries don’t bother punishing their leaders for spying on people for no reason. Some openly monitor communications. If you call China or Libya, chances are your voice will be recorded and your phone number logged. Talk too much about human rights, and you might even be arrested should you choose to visit. So watch what you say.