> There is nothing inherently evil in surveillance. In and of itself it's a neutral thing. It's what you do with it that is evil or good. No it is not. Being w

> There is nothing inherently evil in surveillance. In and of itself it's a neutral thing. It's what you do with it that is evil or good. No it is not. Being watched changes the behavior of the watched. Dissent is less, if the incentives are that way, that dissenting hurts your future choices. There are so much studies showing the dangers of a society being watched and of watchers not controlled, fueled by legal powers. Historically speaking it was the way you described, that oppression came first, surveillance followed as a means to an end. Securing the oppressing leaders. So surveillance is a dangerous thing even without oppressive governments using the data. Just being watched is enough to undermine healthy democratic dissent.