4 ms·

> to assume that everything you write or say to or near an internet connected device is being recorded and linked to your real life identity. I feel like if th

> to assume that everything you write or say to or near an internet connected device is being recorded and linked to your real life identity. I feel like if that were exploited at scale, we could see a huge number of criminal indictments etc., of the sort of behavior that's technically illegal but nobody enforces, but would suddenly be exposed through such an effort. Of course if they took it to court they'd have to discuss how they got the evidence. But the fact that we're not seeing this makes me think it's not as bad as we think, that some amount of discretion is used, or that there is just so much data that nobody is acting on most of it. I frankly think the more scary abuses of the post 9/11 era are things like Guantanamo. The idea that they can round up people and hold them indefinitely, with no or little due process. If someone does warrantless surveillance and brings a case against you based on that information, the expectation is you can challenge it. If they falsely claim you did 9/11, then... Less so.

Dah00n 3y ago
>I feel like if that were exploited at scale, we could see a huge number of criminal indictments etc., This might or might not be true, but let's say it is. But what then in 10 years when something you do or are becomes the next Red Scare?
- asveikau 3y ago
  Yeah. I would say the post 9/11 attitude towards Muslims was the next red scare. And that was the trigger for a lot of this bullshit. So we as a society must remain vigilant of efforts to reduce civil rights. I personally think the resurgence in the last few years of "tough on crime" political rhetoric is another similar wave. The people who want to lock up the homeless or whatever. People demanding more incarceration of petty criminals. Judges are frequently described as weak if they let someone go due to insufficient evidence. If we start thinking due process is for chumps and that we need to lock everybody up no questions asked, I think mass surveillance can be a terrible input to that system.

Dah00n 3y ago

>I feel like if that were exploited at scale, we could see a huge number of criminal indictments etc., This might or might not be true, but let's say it is. But what then in 10 years when something you do or are becomes the next Red Scare?

asveikau 3y ago
Yeah. I would say the post 9/11 attitude towards Muslims was the next red scare. And that was the trigger for a lot of this bullshit. So we as a society must remain vigilant of efforts to reduce civil rights. I personally think the resurgence in the last few years of "tough on crime" political rhetoric is another similar wave. The people who want to lock up the homeless or whatever. People demanding more incarceration of petty criminals. Judges are frequently described as weak if they let someone go due to insufficient evidence. If we start thinking due process is for chumps and that we need to lock everybody up no questions asked, I think mass surveillance can be a terrible input to that system.