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But successive German governments really like the state to collect all communications data - so the sensitivity is very one-sided.
by RandomLensman 5y ago
But successive German governments really like the state to collect all communications data - so the sensitivity is very one-sided.
- kazen44 5y agothe major other difference being that I can democratically elect who is part of my government. I cannot do this in a US owned corporation.
- nickpp 5y agoGovernment surveillance on citizens has a long history of horrifying consequences, especially in Germany. What is the worst corporations are doing with our data? Better ads?!
- heurisko 5y ago> What is the worst corporations are doing with our data? Better ads?! There is often no clear dividing line between government and corporations. You give one freedom to abuse privacy and it will be used by the other.
- nickpp 5y agoYou mean the governments will abuse the privacy, no matter who gathers the data. Then maybe our fight is with them, not businesses.
- heurisko 5y agoNo, what I said doesn't preclude corporations abusing privacy. They regularly try to do this, as with working from home monitoring, or insurance companies profiling individuals. Governments can also be governments in name only, see corporatocracism.
- nickpp 5y ago> working from home monitoring, or insurance companies profiling individuals Comparing that with what governments can do with data gathered about me, I know which ones I want to be protected from. Unfortunately they are the ones writing privacy laws and they leave huge loopholes for themselves.
- kazen44 5y agoespecially not in systems in which the goverment turns totalitarian. (see, fascism and while stalinism doens't have the concept of a company, many of its state owned enterprises where former companies).
- can16358p 5y agoYup. Governments already can access any data they want anyway. Sure, with access to big data collected from corporations that would be easier, but even without that, government can do whatever they want (unfortunately). This harms companies, website owners trying to use services, and users (someone using my free site, I need to monetize it, targeted ads was a nice way, now I can't). I see no upsides of actually protecting privacy.
- RandomLensman 5y agoI don't see that as a relevant distinction. Democratically elected governments can do really bad things, too, and they have a much bigger tool kit for it than corporations.
- xtracto 5y agoThat's the funny thing: they are sensitive of data collection by corporations when the data collection during the DDR was done by the government, something that they surely dont care about.