4 ms·

GCP is like (at least in the US) our right to free speech or privacy. It’s amazing but people either don’t want it, don’t care, or in any case aren’t willing to

GCP is like (at least in the US) our right to free speech or privacy. It’s amazing but people either don’t want it, don’t care, or in any case aren’t willing to fight for it, while on the other side, world-dominating govts/megacorps benefit from it disappearing - so it will. Ultimately I’ve accepted that if the People aren’t willing to fight for these things, they don’t deserve them.

amalcon 4y ago
The idea that free speech is disappearing in the US is patently absurd. Check out the Sedition Act of 1918 if you'd like to be informed on the progress we've made. The speech clause of the first amendment is stronger than it was for about 75% of the existence of our country. There's been a somewhat weird trend lately of the free speech of corporations being prioritized over that of individuals, but people care deeply about that on both the left (opposition to the Citizens United ruling) and the right (opposition to content-aware acceptable use policies). Take a slightly longer view and it seems insignificant, next to literal prosecutions for handing out pamphlets opposing the draft. Same with general purpose computing: it's more accessible than at any time in history. Most people who use only a computing-based appliance like a smartphone today, simply would not have had a computer twenty years ago. Meanwhile I can buy a new Raspberry Pi 4 (definitely a general purpose computer) for less than 25 hours' minimum wage -- try doing that in 2002. The problem is not availability, or that someone is trying to quash it. The problem is that most people just are not interested. Those who are interested have at least as much access as they ever have.
- smitty1e 4y ago
  > The idea that free speech is disappearing in the US is patently absurd. Lorie Smith's case[1] seems to argue otherwise. If the law can be used to compel speech, then the slippery slope to tryanny is well-greased. [1] https://restorationnewsmedia.com/articles/local-news/both-sides-see-high-stakes-in-web-designers-supreme-court-case/ https://restorationnewsmedia.com/articles/local-news/both-si...
nerdponx 4y ago
People don't understand what they are losing, and it's easy to look the other way when everything seems fine from your current perspective.
hindsightbias 4y ago
Generations of kids being raised under surveillance from incubator thru high school don’t have fashionable thoughts on privacy - who could have known? What percentage of HN parents have tracking on their kids phone? All of them.
- raegis 4y ago
  > What percentage of HN parents have tracking on their kids phone? > > All of them. All phones have "tracking" in that they're on a cellular network, so they can be tracked by a cell phone company. My son's phone was stolen at his school recently, but we had no way to recover it. What tracking software do people use on their kids phone? Perhaps I can use it to recover the phone if the next one gets stolen. Apparently since I'm the only parent here who doesn't have tracking for his kids, I want to make your claim true.

amalcon 4y ago

The idea that free speech is disappearing in the US is patently absurd. Check out the Sedition Act of 1918 if you'd like to be informed on the progress we've made. The speech clause of the first amendment is stronger than it was for about 75% of the existence of our country. There's been a somewhat weird trend lately of the free speech of corporations being prioritized over that of individuals, but people care deeply about that on both the left (opposition to the Citizens United ruling) and the right (opposition to content-aware acceptable use policies). Take a slightly longer view and it seems insignificant, next to literal prosecutions for handing out pamphlets opposing the draft. Same with general purpose computing: it's more accessible than at any time in history. Most people who use only a computing-based appliance like a smartphone today, simply would not have had a computer twenty years ago. Meanwhile I can buy a new Raspberry Pi 4 (definitely a general purpose computer) for less than 25 hours' minimum wage -- try doing that in 2002. The problem is not availability, or that someone is trying to quash it. The problem is that most people just are not interested. Those who are interested have at least as much access as they ever have.

smitty1e 4y ago
> The idea that free speech is disappearing in the US is patently absurd. Lorie Smith's case[1] seems to argue otherwise. If the law can be used to compel speech, then the slippery slope to tryanny is well-greased. [1] https://restorationnewsmedia.com/articles/local-news/both-sides-see-high-stakes-in-web-designers-supreme-court-case/ https://restorationnewsmedia.com/articles/local-news/both-si...

nerdponx 4y ago

People don't understand what they are losing, and it's easy to look the other way when everything seems fine from your current perspective.

hindsightbias 4y ago

Generations of kids being raised under surveillance from incubator thru high school don’t have fashionable thoughts on privacy - who could have known? What percentage of HN parents have tracking on their kids phone? All of them.

raegis 4y ago
> What percentage of HN parents have tracking on their kids phone? > > All of them. All phones have "tracking" in that they're on a cellular network, so they can be tracked by a cell phone company. My son's phone was stolen at his school recently, but we had no way to recover it. What tracking software do people use on their kids phone? Perhaps I can use it to recover the phone if the next one gets stolen. Apparently since I'm the only parent here who doesn't have tracking for his kids, I want to make your claim true.