> In a free society, people can commit crimes, and sometimes they can get away with them. We've made a deliberate choice to structure our society this way rathe

> In a free society, people can commit crimes, and sometimes they can get away with them. We've made a deliberate choice to structure our society this way rather than optimizing for preventing crimes or punishing criminals. If we're talking about the United States, then we're talking about a society of control. When you go to the store, you may pay with a debit card, thus making you trackable. Alternatively, you will be caught on a camera entering, shopping, checking-out, and then leaving the store. Maybe your smartphone was tracking your location, you had your partner email you a shopping list, or you were in a group chat discussing what to buy for your nephews Christmas present and their aunt suggested a book. Maybe your mother got a little too into genealogy and did 23andme or some other service allowing police to look for criminals. If you walk your dog through your neighborhood, how many doorbell cameras are you caught on? How many times have you seen here on HN where people said they felt compelled to check email after work to put forth the image that they fully committed to their company? Everyone knows this is happening and everyone marches on because we still feel free despite the decentralized panopticon we've fallen into. All of the previous examples shape behavior, yet allow the facade of freedom. There's no more likely occurrence than for encryption to be subsumed to further exert control, but it will be in a way that doesn't seem to hamper freedom.