With all that fun British phone hacking news, you may have missed some exciting phone surveillance news here in the States. The NSA's lawyer says the U.S. government might have the authority to physically track Americans with their cell phones.

We've already seen how our cell phones follow our every move like stylish, self-applied homing devices. So, it's unsettling that the NSA is trying to stake out possible legal justification for secretly spying on U.S. citizens' cell phones while they are inside the country. NSA lawyer Matthew Olsen told a Senate hearing today that "There are certain circumstances where that authority may exist."

This was in response to questions from Sen. Ron Wyden who, along with Sen. Mark Udall recently sent a letter to the NSA and CIA asking if intelligence agencies are secretly tracking U.S. citizens using their cellphones, since, you know, the NSA has had a little trouble with not violating our rights in the past.

You know, if the agency just started offering free copies of Angry Birds to cell phone users in exchange for agreeing to be tracked, this whole question would probably be moot. [WSJ, image via Getty]