The National Security Agency has mapped some U.S. citizens' social connections, including Facebook ties, according to a "New York Times" report published Sept. 28. Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

It hardly takes the NSA to make big picture connections based on your data. It's mostly free and open.

— Brett Turley

This data-gathering is not really a surprise. Many apps that people download and install require permission to access your friend list and pretty much all your information on Facebook. Why not let the government, too?

Tori Skidori

No big deal about this. A lot of this information is there for the whole world to see, so why not for an organization that is looking out for Americans' safety. I know many will say, again, the agency is violating our rights and that leaker Edward Snowden, if ever caught, should go to jail as a traitor.

Al Raymond

It's too bad most Americans have no idea this is happening.

I asked a woman the other day what she thought about the NSA spying on us, and she said, what's the NSA? I said, never mind.

Ellen Hayes

You only have to imagine what Joseph McCarthy could have accomplished had he possessed this technology in the early 1950s.

I don't trust the NSA (or the IRS) to be any more honorable with the information they gather than I would have trusted McCarthy.

Hugh Marshall

Facebook "private" posts are not privy to app developers, myself being one. To have free access to private posts without permission is an invasion of privacy.

The big problem is where does this data-gathering lead? What if a big fat bully leads the NSA and decides to side with a single political party? The end of democracy.

Ron Packard

Letters to the editor:

Over the last 50 years, incidents of government agencies encroaching on the privacy of Americans have been revealed to the public. The FBI, CIA, IRS and the NSA have been scrutinized in the news media, chastised by foreign leaders and subjected to partisan congressional inquiries. What does this say about our federal government? Is democracy with all its imperfections still beautiful?

The NSA is experiencing an onslaught of coverage from the 24-hour news cycle.

At some point, the operating procedures that many Americans find inconsistent with the underpinnings of democracy will be resolved through the inner workings of congressional oversight.

For this reason, is it really worth sullying the reputations of the members of the armed forces and the civil servants serving at the NSA? No. It's an unintended consequence. We should thank them for their service.

The larger question is whether the misdeeds at NSA have created a culture that impedes the agency's work, while learning more will reaffirm what makes our democracy so resilient.

Mark M. Spradley; Chevy Chase, Md.

The NSA is consistently overstepping boundaries and invading all manner of personal privacy.

We have a process in this country for seeking justice. That should not include stalking. What we need is less of Big Brother and a more accountable, honest administration. Enough is enough.

Tyler Stocks; Greenville, N.C.

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