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> such outlandish claims Are you serious? Mass surveillance means people will refrain from expressing their thoughts freely. And that is part of the foundation
by frank_boyd 13y ago
> such outlandish claims
Are you serious? Mass surveillance means people will refrain from expressing their thoughts freely. And that is part of the foundation of every democracy.
- MartinCron 13y agoI'm mostly serious. There are two ideas that feel implicit in your statement: 1. Democracy only works if we have access to unmonitored electronic communications, which doesn't really stand up because democracy predates electronic media. and/or 2. When people know they are being monitored, there is a profound chilling effect around politically important speech. That hasn't exactly been proven. If anything, I've seen more expression of free thoughts since the NSA stories broke.