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Really good point. I'm amazed we don't hear this argument more, and also the related one that we always used to have an anonymous payment system (cash) so why i

Really good point. I'm amazed we don't hear this argument more, and also the related one that we always used to have an anonymous payment system (cash) so why is a digital equivalent unthinkable?

thaumasiotes 7y ago
Historically, intelligence services did routinely open and read physical letters sent through the mail, on bulk scales.
- mafm 7y ago
  Yeah, but that happened in places like the USSR, not in the free world.
  - thaumasiotes 7y ago
    It happened in premodern Europe, in places like Switzerland. It's not a 20th-century phenomenon by any means.
    - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
      In the inter-war years and through WW2 there was a GPO Special Investigations Unit in every sorting office. They were steaming open, photographing mail, then sending them on, and the photos to MI5. They were also responsible for recording phone calls so had presence in major exchanges. https://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n07/frances-stonorsaunders/stuck-on-the-flypaper https://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n07/frances-stonorsaunders/stuck-o...
- OBLIQUE_PILLAR 7y ago
  Currently the US scans and saves an image of the front and back of every single piece of postal mail.