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> We just don’t the government enough to let them track us everywhere. That statement is both true and emblematic of the problem. Everyone is so cynical that a
by xp84 3y ago
> We just don’t the government enough to let them track us everywhere.
That statement is both true and emblematic of the problem. Everyone is so cynical that a clean public-key, offline, certificate-based solution, with an absolute zero visibility to the government of who is doing what, would always be assumed to be part of some nefarious Illuminati/Democrat/Republican plot. Proving it to people with technical tests wouldn't prove it. They'll always be convinced.
What we need from the government is so minimal really, just to sign certificates if we prove our identity. But it'll never happen in the US due to the distrust situation.
- jimmydorry 3y agoBecause there has never been a proposal for a "clean public-key / offline / certificate-based solution". It's always a central database that also does x and y and will be available for w and z departments to do as they will with it.
- xp84 3y agoIt doesn’t matter though, because the percentage of Americans who can understand public key crypto even in a vague way sufficient to critically read a technical analysis and judge it to be true, you could count on one hand. Nobody has proposed it because if any politicians have seen such a proposal on their desks, even if they themselves grasp it (unlikely), they know most Americans would freak out on principle.
- mindslight 3y agoWhy are you talking about hypotheticals and abstract "distrust" ? We're already being harmed by existing central ID systems - social security numbers and drivers license numbers - with little hope for reform in sight. If there were something like the GDPR that prohibited companies from nonconsensually demanding, storing, or using these identifiers for anything but their bona fide governmental functions, then it might make sense to talk about adding a new system. But until the government is capable of reigning in abuse of the existing systems, any new identification system would inevitably be a gift to the surveillance companies.