4 ms·

It never ceases to amaze me how people who are opposed to government surveillance by accountable liberal constitutional democracies are OK with surveillance by

It never ceases to amaze me how people who are opposed to government surveillance by accountable liberal constitutional democracies are OK with surveillance by unaccountable private interests who lie all the time and do harm in order to make money.

cameronbrown 7y ago
The government has the ability to make me disappear. Facebook does not.
- tehjoker 7y ago
  "Facebook Is Looking for Employees With National Security Clearances" "October 16, 2017, 4:00 AM EDT Updated on October 16, 2017, 12:23 PM EDT" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/facebook-is-said-to-seek-staff-with-national-security-clearance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/facebook-...
- arrosenberg 7y ago
  Facebook does have the opposite ability though - they could make one appear to be whoever they want. If they were inclined to use their data and technology maliciously, against an individual, I think it's likely they could ruin that life pretty quickly.
- bongobongo 7y ago
  A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. And repressive governments already use Facebook to disappear their people: >The Facebook posts were not from everyday internet users. Instead, they were from Myanmar military personnel who turned the social network into a tool for ethnic cleansing, according to former military officials, researchers and civilian officials in the country. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebo... So, the notion that it's somehow "safer" for Facebook to engage in omnipresent surveillance doesn't prove true.
  - phry 7y ago
    > A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. oh for sure bud "The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site'" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-poli...
    - na85 7y ago
      The US isn't a liberal constitutional democracy. It's an oligarchy with different laws for the rich and poor.
  - paulddraper 7y ago
    > A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. Yes, no true Scotsman would do such a thing.
    - bongobongo 7y ago
      You don’t really know what that means, do you?
- gdy 7y ago
  But character assassination with all the data on you that FB has is trivial.
- ishan1121 7y ago
  Be shadow banned by Fb & Google and your online presence is dead. You can scream and scream all you want but no one will hear you online.
paulddraper 7y ago
Government has a exclusive monopoly on taxation and physical force. Facebook is just some website. There's not even a comparison.
- AlexandrB 7y ago
  Government is elected. Facebook is controlled by a single person who even the board cannot force out. There's not even a comparison.
  - paulddraper 7y ago
    Facebook was elected by the market. There have been other candidates to make bids: Google+, WeChat, etc.

cameronbrown 7y ago

The government has the ability to make me disappear. Facebook does not.

tehjoker 7y ago
"Facebook Is Looking for Employees With National Security Clearances" "October 16, 2017, 4:00 AM EDT Updated on October 16, 2017, 12:23 PM EDT" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/facebook-is-said-to-seek-staff-with-national-security-clearance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/facebook-...
arrosenberg 7y ago
Facebook does have the opposite ability though - they could make one appear to be whoever they want. If they were inclined to use their data and technology maliciously, against an individual, I think it's likely they could ruin that life pretty quickly.
bongobongo 7y ago
A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. And repressive governments already use Facebook to disappear their people: >The Facebook posts were not from everyday internet users. Instead, they were from Myanmar military personnel who turned the social network into a tool for ethnic cleansing, according to former military officials, researchers and civilian officials in the country. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebo... So, the notion that it's somehow "safer" for Facebook to engage in omnipresent surveillance doesn't prove true.
- phry 7y ago
  > A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. oh for sure bud "The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site'" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-poli...
  - na85 7y ago
    The US isn't a liberal constitutional democracy. It's an oligarchy with different laws for the rich and poor.
- paulddraper 7y ago
  > A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. Yes, no true Scotsman would do such a thing.
  - bongobongo 7y ago
    You don’t really know what that means, do you?
gdy 7y ago
But character assassination with all the data on you that FB has is trivial.
ishan1121 7y ago
Be shadow banned by Fb & Google and your online presence is dead. You can scream and scream all you want but no one will hear you online.

paulddraper 7y ago

Government has a exclusive monopoly on taxation and physical force. Facebook is just some website. There's not even a comparison.

AlexandrB 7y ago
Government is elected. Facebook is controlled by a single person who even the board cannot force out. There's not even a comparison.
- paulddraper 7y ago
  Facebook was elected by the market. There have been other candidates to make bids: Google+, WeChat, etc.