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Not to accuse Intel, because I have no idea whether or not they have backdoors, but do you want them to say: "Yes, we intentionally sold faulty products that put all your customer data at risk, and you at risk of a lawsuit for not protecting your customers' data."

Not so good for the share price, methinks.



Makes me wonder, though... if the government forces intel to sell everyone defective products does that violate our 4th amendment rights? Do I, as an individual, have standing to sue the federal government because they intentionally weakened a product I purchased, potentially exposing me to other kinds of threats?

What about someone who has actually been victimized by an exploit of a backdoor that was ordered installed by the government? Would they have standing to sue for damages that resulted?

I only ask because I know "standing" has been an important issue in many of the cases related to these abuses. Most of the suits have failed because the plaintiffs were found to lack standing for one reason or another.


No. In general, you may only sue the federal government when the federal government gives you permission to sue them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity_in_the_Unite...


You can file a lawsuit saying your rights were violated (the ACLU has done it multiple times). You can also sue under The Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"). The Federal Government is not immune from rights violations.


Especially when Snowden outs them :-)




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