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The entire story highlights the double standards of governments and the people they serve. Government tells us if we have nothing to hide we shouldn't worry ab
by geggam 7y ago
The entire story highlights the double standards of governments and the people they serve.
Government tells us if we have nothing to hide we shouldn't worry about the invasive intrusions into our privacy but when government's privacy is intruded they want to imprison people for it.
- humblebee 7y agoDoesn't this just mean that governments have plenty to hide?
- IfOnlyYouKnew 7y agoI don't know what "Government" you're talking about, but I have never actually heard that argument. European governments actually have passed a host of privacy regulations. The US Supreme Court has recognised a right to privacy etc. None of those things would make sense if privacy wasn't valuable.
- ebg13 7y agoThe US Supreme Court, which by definition does not enact things, it only unenacts things by interpreting the US Constitution, is not what people are talking about when they say "the government". When people talk about "the government" here, they mean the Executive and Legislative branches (President+DOJ and Congress), but mostly they mean law enforcement and those who enable them. Local and federal law enforcement do not want you to have privacy.
- paulmd 7y agoThe US Supreme Court absolutely does enact things. For example, "tests" to interpret some other law or policy, which then gain the force of law. Or sometimes directly, as in "it would be discriminatory not to do X", and then everyone needs to do X. It would be more proper to say they can't enact something except in the furtherance of another compelling interest.
- miles 7y ago> European governments actually have passed a host of privacy regulations Curiously, the very governing body that imposed those regulations decided to exempt itself: EU Commission Violates GDPR; Claims That It's Exempt From The Law For 'Legal Reasons' https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180605/22253339978/eu-commission-violates-gdpr-claims-that-exempt-law-legal-reasons.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180605/22253339978/eu-co...
- icebraining 7y agoThat is right, and even explicit in the GDPR: the handling of personal data by Union institutions is regulated under the existing Regulation 45/2001.
- miles 7y agoClearly the exisiting regulation 45/2001 has a little more wiggle room. FTA: > This leak would normally constitute a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) if other organisations had done it themselves. However, a spokesman the commission said, based on “legal reasons”, European institutions are separate from the GDPR.
- icebraining 7y agoYes, at the time. In October, that regulation was replaced by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, which adapted it to the principles of the GDPR. So essentially you had a gap of a few months, during which that event occurred.
- lone_haxx0r 7y agoWhen EU legislators say "privacy" they usually mean data regulation (e.g. GDPR) Data regulations like the GDPR are in fact anti-privacy: they interfere in the free data transactions between companies and users.