Prior to that they were able to function just fine by using non-classified data brokers which have access to every bit of data that can be extracted from every smart phone that has a single app that’s compromised by their spyware.

Having access to even greater surveillance data (like the data that is gathered at TITANPOINTE and other oversea cable collection locations) just lets whoever is in charge more accurately target their political opponents.

Like Snowden said in citizenfour, the collection capabilities of the NSA create a situation which would allow ‘turnkey totalitarianism’. Well, they’ve turned the key.