Metadata equals surveillance; it's that simple.

Cryptography products may be declared illegal, but the information will never be

Anyone, from the most clueless amateur to the best cryptographer, can create an algorithm that he himself can't break.

If someone steals your password, you can change it. But if someone steals your thumbprint, you can't get a new thumb. The failure modes are very different.

Given the credible estimate that we've spent $1 trillion on anti-terrorism security

Computer security can simply be protecting your equipment and files from disgruntled employees, spies, and anything that goes bump in the night, but there is much more. Computer security helps ensure that your computers, networks, and peripherals work as expected all the time, and that your data is safe in the event of hard disk crash or a power failure resulting from an electrical storm. Computer security also makes sure no damage is done to your data and that no one is able to read it unless you want them to.

Surveillance of power is one of the most important ways to ensure that power does not abuse its status. But, of course, power does not like to be watched.