The debate over whether to allow federal law enforcement the ability to monitor Internet communications from airplanes is significant because it represents a skirmish in the larger war on terrorism over reaching a balance between individual privacy and collective security.

It is important to recognize the contours and the complexities of this debate that are made more complicated by at least two crucial factors. First, the external threat of radical Salafi Islam and its potential to unleash havoc on our society, as evidenced by the attacks of 9/11 , have raised the stakes of this debate but offered no simple answers. Second, the avalanche of technology has, in addition to creating marvelous efficiencies; opened our society up to the possibility of massive invasions of privacy. Technological advances have increased both the volume of personal data available and the speed at which this data can be accessed. These two forces of terror and technology have created a situation where the government has the motive, means, and opportunity to redefine the balance between an individual?s right to privacy and the promise of collective security.