tomato, tomahto -- your comment does make me wonder just how much the NSA contracts out its surveillance though. Remember, Snowden was working for Booz Allen Hamilton, not the NSA.
Words mean things. They form the basis of our laws.
It is legal for a private spook to be hired by private persons or corporations to spy on others. It is illegal for a spook of any flavor to be hired by the government to spy on USians without a warrant or similar device.
Your last statement is really what all the fuss is about, though -- the government is trying to contravene how most sane people would interpret the Constitution, and legalize such activities.
