Well, if you're talking about WMD, then according to new legislation, yes. According to the bill, companies and the government can legally spy on your conversations if you drop words like Weapons of Mass Destruction and talk of "incendiary explosives," "poison," or "toxins" that may ave the intent to incur "significant number" of injuries or death. The definition of a WMD has been updated under Title VII section 110 of the Thomas government database.
The article from wired that outlines these definitions makes the point that "significant number" of injuries or deaths is still a fairly ambiguous term and is not defined within the legislation but remains to be defined. The UN in 1948 defined a WMD to be on the "scale of an atomic bomb." But according to the legislation a few grams of "ricin or a cylinder of chlorine" can be considered WMD "if someone threatens to use it against the public."
Is this legislation just a smoke screen to increase the government's ability to spy? Does it get companies like AT&T out of the doghouse for snooping on conversations (can somebody say corporate lobbying?)?
What do you think?
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