DNI, Patriot Act Section 215: Documents show how government inflated metadata definition. (Slate)

Final paragraph of a metadata + surveillance reality check

"It’s incredible how much of the way we think about surveillance continues to be governed by telephone technology. Even President Obama sought to reassure the public about the nature of the leaked surveillance programs by telling reporters in June that “nobody is listening to your telephone calls.” When it came to old-fashioned telephone technology, there was a clear-cut distinction between metadata and content, there were data irrelevant to a communication’s meaning, and we were reasonably well aware of the kinds of metadata we generated when we made calls. But now, none of those assumptions necessarily holds true, and we’re beginning to understand the extent to which the medium—and the metadata—really are the message."

DNI, Patriot Act Section 215: Documents show how government inflated metadata definition.