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Is something being created for profit scarier/worse? I'm personally far more concerned about government surveillance programs that I have no option but to parti

Is something being created for profit scarier/worse? I'm personally far more concerned about government surveillance programs that I have no option but to participate in.

AlexandrB 8y ago
I'm always confused by comments like this. Not only is corporate surveillance always one NSL away from being used by the government, but corporations aren't democracies. As a user I can't vote on what data Facebook choses to collect. Facebook's shadow profiles also put to rest the idea that you get to choose whether or not to participate in corporate surveillance.
- BigJono 8y ago
  Ask me and the other citizens of Australia what democracy has done to save us from government mass surveiallance. It may possibly be one of the worst guards against it. 99% of the population don't understand it and don't give a shit. Co-incidently that's the only reason Facebook and Google get away with it too, or it'd be far more profitable for them to back off and play the "we value your privacy" PR card. Literally the only difference is that Facebook is headed by software engineers and governments are headed by a bunch of people with tons of power and no knowledge. You tell me which is more dangerous. You can't act ethically if you don't even understand the domain you're acting in.
  - pferde 8y ago
    > Literally the only difference is that Facebook is headed by software engineers and governments are headed by a bunch of people with tons of power and no knowledge. You tell me which is more dangerous. You can't act ethically if you don't even understand the domain you're acting in. On the other hand, you can do a lot more damage if you have the knowledge, and do not care about ethics.
- ralusek 8y ago
  It's not that I don't think that the government collects the data that Facebook has gathered, it's that I don't have to use Facebook. By the way, do you see the issue of NSA carpet surveillance coming up on the ballot very often? Democracy sucks. Consensual liberal markets are the secret sauce to the free and prosperous societies humanity has produced, NOT the utter sham that is democracy.

Is something being created for profit scarier/worse? I'm personally far more concerned about government surveillance programs that I have no option but to participate in.

AlexandrB 8y ago

I'm always confused by comments like this. Not only is corporate surveillance always one NSL away from being used by the government, but corporations aren't democracies. As a user I can't vote on what data Facebook choses to collect. Facebook's shadow profiles also put to rest the idea that you get to choose whether or not to participate in corporate surveillance.

BigJono 8y ago
Ask me and the other citizens of Australia what democracy has done to save us from government mass surveiallance. It may possibly be one of the worst guards against it. 99% of the population don't understand it and don't give a shit. Co-incidently that's the only reason Facebook and Google get away with it too, or it'd be far more profitable for them to back off and play the "we value your privacy" PR card. Literally the only difference is that Facebook is headed by software engineers and governments are headed by a bunch of people with tons of power and no knowledge. You tell me which is more dangerous. You can't act ethically if you don't even understand the domain you're acting in.
- pferde 8y ago
  > Literally the only difference is that Facebook is headed by software engineers and governments are headed by a bunch of people with tons of power and no knowledge. You tell me which is more dangerous. You can't act ethically if you don't even understand the domain you're acting in. On the other hand, you can do a lot more damage if you have the knowledge, and do not care about ethics.
ralusek 8y ago
It's not that I don't think that the government collects the data that Facebook has gathered, it's that I don't have to use Facebook. By the way, do you see the issue of NSA carpet surveillance coming up on the ballot very often? Democracy sucks. Consensual liberal markets are the secret sauce to the free and prosperous societies humanity has produced, NOT the utter sham that is democracy.