Maybe the question is, why would I donate to fight for the privacy rights of a small minority of the world's population (which as it happens doesn't include me)? Potentially, the answer is that by making it harder for the NSA to spy on Americans we make it harder for the NSA to spy on the rest of us. The concern is that focusing on US political / legal fixes potentially still leaves the majority of us vulnerable to mass surveillance. I haven't seen as much exploration of this question as it seems like there ought to be.
To clarify: I have no problem donating to fight for civil rights in the US. I know they affect me and there is not much else I can do as a European to change US policy.
I do have a problem though with framing the debate as "privacy for the American people", that may be a good cause, but it is a domestic cause. I'd much prefer if this were framed as a global one. (And I'm sure Lavabit had international customers.)
At least, the Americans should fix their constitution to say that their institutions ain't allowed to spy on any human without proper judical oversight. Otherwise, as you, I don't care about their legal system.
That is actually what the constitution says. The US government should get warrant when spying on anyone regardless of who they are or where they are. The limitations are placed on the government, not the other way around.
It is only by legal convention that the US government does warrantless spying on non US citizens and gets away with it.
