Of course, it's not pointless if it garners him a research grant.

The world is full of 'scientists', eager find interesting things that make no economic sense, on someone elses buck/pound.

The first three comments are about how evil the US is for negotiating a method to obtail specific items of information retained by the EU. Not wholsale access, per TFA. No comment on the fact that the EU authorities are collecting, wholesale, all info passing on email, phones, etc. Hell, the British intel agencies have been at it for a while already. And you imagine the French police don't? Meh.

So who's the one not respecting privacy rights, the robber or the one who asks to share the robber's take? Of course it's easier to carp over the other guy, than come to terms that the EU is at least, if not more paternalistic than the US. All the privacy laws seem to rigidly control what individuals and companies can do but pretty much give a free pass the the governments. Both are bad for the citizens of the US and the EU. Both point to the other countries policies and say, "See, they do it, so we should too." When both citiens stand firm and pressure their reps to do the right thing, we support each other. Of course, I have no illusions of how easy that is. venril