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This is absolutely terrifying. You can't use "the way things currently are" to argue for giving governments access to personal data. You have to think about,

This is absolutely terrifying. You can't use "the way things currently are" to argue for giving governments access to personal data. You have to think about, and protect "the way things might end up". How easy do you want to make it for corrupt government leaders to suppress opposition?

datashovel 12y ago
with regard to snuffing out terrorist plots, this (in my mind) needs to be a collective effort. Government is not the only entity that should be responsible for preventing terrorism. The way I see it, it's the only way to keep governments from becoming the omniscient creatures they strive to be. By making it a world-wide collective effort to work to prevent terrorism. The moment you make it entirely the government's problem and responsibility is the moment you (for humanity's sake) have to relinquish your privacy.
- dllthomas 12y ago
  Similar for abuse of anonymity, I think.
  - datashovel 12y ago
    I think I understand, and agree. Government should strive to be inclusive in their objectives, and not exclusive. It creates an entirely different landscape when government is dependent upon the people and vice-versa.
    - dllthomas 12y ago
      I think in particular that there is value in spreading memes that 1) the possibility of anonymity is vital to a free society; and that 2) abuse of anonymity undermines that possibility and thereby undermines freedom. Obviously we don't deal with 2 by breaching anonymity - that is destructive to our ends. But that doesn't stop us spreading the meme.
- woodman 12y ago
  That statement is wrong regardless of how you feel about the state, which is an impressive achievement. If you are of the "consent of the governed" mindset, then the government is the "collective effort". If you recognize the fact that your consent is not asked or required for governance, than you also likely recognize the fact that the state will continue to expand - as that is the nature of bureaucracies. I can only think of one area that the state leaves alone, religion, it has its finger in every other pie. What are you actually suggesting, that companies should voluntarily be backdooring software and handing over keys to the government? Or are you suggesting that they should be monitoring all their customers and informing on them, in the attempt to preserve privacy?
  - datashovel 12y ago
    I definitely wouldn't say I am certain I have a foolproof answer, otherwise the solution would probably already be apparent. What I am saying is, certainly, the problem is a difficult one. I think the idea behind '1984', the book, (before I understood what terrorism was) only seemed a flippant idea propositioned as the plot of a fictional book. Surely no human being would ever consciously choose to govern the world (or their nation) in such a way, and even so they would likely be cut off early in the process if they tried. Now with more life experience and knowledge of the current state of the world, I can only reason that '1984' makes complete and total sense once the concept of "terrorism" is understood to be the catalyst of such a movement. Here are some basic scenarios: 1) Terrorism scares citizens and thus, as a knee-jerk reaction, wish to empower their government with omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent powers. The kinds of powers that any subsequent (corrupt) government could easily take advantage of. 2) Terrorism scares citizens, and as such citizens decide to be proactive to collaborate with their government to help prevent terrorists from causing harm to their nation and to make them as effective as they can possibly be, while at the same time working to preserve basic human rights such as the right to privacy. 3) Terrorism scares citizens. Knowing that entrusting their government with the kinds of powers they would need in order to act against terrorism would be overreaching, as such citizens decide their government should have no such powers and decide not to give their government God-like powers, while also deciding not to collaborate and blaming all failures on their government, and so citizens continue to live in a world of constant alertness and fear worrying that their next trip to the city could be their last... Just like the Goldilocks fairy tale, I think the world is not looking for a solution that is "too hot" or "too cold". Rather we're all looking for the solution that is "just right". The specific solution I can't say I have the answer, but with continuous iteration and improvement I'm certain smart people can come to a sane (but more than likely imperfect) solution that does not violate any single group and their goals / objectives / rights. And at the same time does not necessarily handicap future generations with rules and regulations that are almost insurmountable should they find themselves ruled by a corrupt / power-hungry government.

datashovel 12y ago

with regard to snuffing out terrorist plots, this (in my mind) needs to be a collective effort. Government is not the only entity that should be responsible for preventing terrorism. The way I see it, it's the only way to keep governments from becoming the omniscient creatures they strive to be. By making it a world-wide collective effort to work to prevent terrorism. The moment you make it entirely the government's problem and responsibility is the moment you (for humanity's sake) have to relinquish your privacy.

dllthomas 12y ago
Similar for abuse of anonymity, I think.
- datashovel 12y ago
  I think I understand, and agree. Government should strive to be inclusive in their objectives, and not exclusive. It creates an entirely different landscape when government is dependent upon the people and vice-versa.
  - dllthomas 12y ago
    I think in particular that there is value in spreading memes that 1) the possibility of anonymity is vital to a free society; and that 2) abuse of anonymity undermines that possibility and thereby undermines freedom. Obviously we don't deal with 2 by breaching anonymity - that is destructive to our ends. But that doesn't stop us spreading the meme.
woodman 12y ago
That statement is wrong regardless of how you feel about the state, which is an impressive achievement. If you are of the "consent of the governed" mindset, then the government is the "collective effort". If you recognize the fact that your consent is not asked or required for governance, than you also likely recognize the fact that the state will continue to expand - as that is the nature of bureaucracies. I can only think of one area that the state leaves alone, religion, it has its finger in every other pie. What are you actually suggesting, that companies should voluntarily be backdooring software and handing over keys to the government? Or are you suggesting that they should be monitoring all their customers and informing on them, in the attempt to preserve privacy?
- datashovel 12y ago
  I definitely wouldn't say I am certain I have a foolproof answer, otherwise the solution would probably already be apparent. What I am saying is, certainly, the problem is a difficult one. I think the idea behind '1984', the book, (before I understood what terrorism was) only seemed a flippant idea propositioned as the plot of a fictional book. Surely no human being would ever consciously choose to govern the world (or their nation) in such a way, and even so they would likely be cut off early in the process if they tried. Now with more life experience and knowledge of the current state of the world, I can only reason that '1984' makes complete and total sense once the concept of "terrorism" is understood to be the catalyst of such a movement. Here are some basic scenarios: 1) Terrorism scares citizens and thus, as a knee-jerk reaction, wish to empower their government with omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent powers. The kinds of powers that any subsequent (corrupt) government could easily take advantage of. 2) Terrorism scares citizens, and as such citizens decide to be proactive to collaborate with their government to help prevent terrorists from causing harm to their nation and to make them as effective as they can possibly be, while at the same time working to preserve basic human rights such as the right to privacy. 3) Terrorism scares citizens. Knowing that entrusting their government with the kinds of powers they would need in order to act against terrorism would be overreaching, as such citizens decide their government should have no such powers and decide not to give their government God-like powers, while also deciding not to collaborate and blaming all failures on their government, and so citizens continue to live in a world of constant alertness and fear worrying that their next trip to the city could be their last... Just like the Goldilocks fairy tale, I think the world is not looking for a solution that is "too hot" or "too cold". Rather we're all looking for the solution that is "just right". The specific solution I can't say I have the answer, but with continuous iteration and improvement I'm certain smart people can come to a sane (but more than likely imperfect) solution that does not violate any single group and their goals / objectives / rights. And at the same time does not necessarily handicap future generations with rules and regulations that are almost insurmountable should they find themselves ruled by a corrupt / power-hungry government.