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Any argument that may tangentially, hypothetically help enable surveillance, with that being very far from the aim, along with only being possible in a terrible

• john_b 13y ago
  I think the parent was making the more general point that, when people become increasingly skeptical of some form of government power (surveillance in this case), it is natural and expected for the government to highlight the useful aspects of that power while downplaying or hiding the negative aspects. People are busy and thinking about these things imposes a cognitive load, so many will not distinguish between 911 emergency location technology and the technology of bulk phone surveillance. Since we've already seen the latter part of the government's marketing strategy (downplay the bad stuff), it wouldn't be surprising if the government used articles like this to highlight the benefits.