[Grut]

If you conduct business on public wires, then expect no privacy.

That's like saying "if you live in a high crime area, expect to get mugged." It may be realistic but it's not something to be complacent about.

The wires, incidentally, aren't "public." They're private wires available to the public on a contract basis, one of the implicit conditions of the contract being the privacy of the user.

[lepton]

That's like saying "if you live in a high crime area, expect to get mugged."

No it's not. It's like saying if you yell across the street, expect to be overheard.

[cinives]

I’d consider them private if they were’t regulated so heavily by government and didn’t collude with the government to keep out competition.

Where in the contract do they list the expectation of privacy ? Jeez, we’ve known since the 30s that the NSA listened in on a regular basis.

Telcos are just a tool of the government - a facist partnership - just like the companies who “own” the “public” airwaves.