I've seen this "nerds are the bad guys" pro legacy media narrative too, and in the same places. In the US it's usually built around January 6th and Trumpism and

I've seen this "nerds are the bad guys" pro legacy media narrative too, and in the same places. In the US it's usually built around January 6th and Trumpism and the role of social media in that. I'm alarmed by the rise of right-wing populist totalitarianism too, but I also feel like we need to remind people to keep their eye on the other players. I heard a funny saying once: the march of tyranny goes "left, right, left, right..." You don't need to posit a conspiracy to explain that pattern, just reaction and opportunism. I'm hearing rumblings in the USA about a "domestic war on terror" which is every bit as scary as another borderline coup attempt if not more. We'll see that get pushed hard if there is an Oklahoma City scale attack that comes out of the fringe of the militia, right-populist, or Qanon-type circles. That push will include our own version of this UK campaign but framed around surveilling domestic extremism. I don't think the cryptography wars are over. I think we'll see renewed pushes for more spying and crypto restrictions as we (perhaps) enter a period of increasing domestic and global political instability. I also expect to see pushes to lock down all devices to only run approved code, an open and general war on universal computation, or a push to require all devices to have remote backdoors. Edit: Anyone who entertains these arguments needs to remember that "their side" may not necessarily be the ones wielding them. Always picture any increased invasive powers or reduced individual liberties in the hands of your worst political opponents. Political winds can shift quickly, especially in these times.