The New York Times utilizes the basic concepts of a stage magician. While you are busy looking at the private companies Facebook shared data with, you are _not_ looking at the NSA behind the curtain.
That is another can of worms. There is some justification of data monitoring related to terrorists and drug dealers. But there is a huge hole in responsibility for abuse.
We have discussed at least 3 major mass arrests here on FR and the trials that extend for years and all 3 have turned into a legal nightmare for many innocent people caught in the trap. The power is there, but like the sorcerer’s apprentice they don't have the knowledge of how to control it. Even now this is shown in Spygate or whatever you want to call it, huge abuse of police power with the Giant Database in the Sky (Cloud).