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If my memory serve, we are talking about a government that would love to kill or backdoor crypto - all in the name of "stop the terrorists" and "protect the chi
by astrobe_ 7y ago
If my memory serve, we are talking about a government that would love to kill or backdoor crypto - all in the name of "stop the terrorists" and "protect the children", arguments that are also about saving lives.
People worry about their own privacy, but they should worry about the protection of people engaged in politics - not (only) political activists but (also) "professional" politicians.
These data is an absolutely fabulous weapon to ruin the public credibility of, say, a competitor for the next poll. Or you can use them for blackmail. If you can't blackmail your opponent directly you can always look at what their family members are doing.
The possibilities are so numerous that it's hilarious. The irony is that the MPs who vote those laws seem not to be aware they are shooting themselves in the foot.
Privacy is a human right. Before given up on it, you have to make sure that a) it is temporary and b) the benefits are real (is it an effective way of preventing something bad etc.)
- supernova87a 7y agoCan you give a couple simple examples of the kinds of things might be revealed through loss of privacy in such an app, that would be very damaging?
- Robin_Message 7y agoAffairs. Iron-clad proof a minister violated some lockdown restrictions. The location of someone hiding from an abusive partner. The new name of someone in a witness protection programme. The identity of a defendant in an important but secret trial.
- supernova87a 7y agoI'm not sure how any of these are not already searchable / discoverable by someone abusing the cellular system that already knows phone locations all the time?
- voz_ 7y agoAgreed. A lot of the privacy hullaballoo I read on HN feels like tin-foil-hattery. Who cares what kind of app you have tracking your GPS on your phone, when every surveillance camera in London knows exactly where you have been? If you want real privacy, it has to come from getting the right privacy aware, privacy understanding, people in power. Anything short of that wont make a whit of difference.
- astrobe_ 7y agoThat's utterly broken logic. If you are doing well with a missing finger on your right hand, certainly it won't bother you if we chop the same finger of your left hand ?