US Becoming More Private, Much Harder to Govern

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey said that evolution of society was unprecedented in US history and demanded a national debate and conversation on the rights of individuals and the powers of government and surveillance.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The nature of American society is changing, making the United States a much more difficult country to govern because of the increasing passion and capabilities for privacy, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey said on Wednesday.

"The fundamental governance of the US is changing," Comey told a meeting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "We are moving to a place where wide swathes of American life will be absolutely private outside the reach of judges."

Comey noted that this evolution of society was unprecedented in US history and demanded a national debate and conversation on the rights of individuals and the powers of government and surveillance.

"That's a place we've never lived before… I think we’ve got to talk about it… Life is changing. It has a big impact on our work," Comey pointed out.

Hyper-transparency was going to be forced on the FBI and other US federal agencies whether they liked it or no, because of the evolving nature of society and technology, Comey added.