A generation ago our leaders derided China (and Russia) for this kind of pervasive spying on it's citizens. In the US we did the same thing just increasing costs by enriching the private sector on the way. That's not better. That's worse.
A generation ago our leaders derided China (and Russia) for this kind of pervasive spying on it's citizens. In the US we did the same thing just increasing costs by enriching the private sector on the way. That's not better. That's worse.
I still remember people asking, "why people in [China], don't protest more actively against it?" as if they would do much better, some others arguing that it was in their "culture" not to protest, as if it would be in the US, they would do anything different: we now have our answer.
Kinda reminds me of when I saw footage online of a group of teens raiding a 7/11 store -- maybe during the BLM riots --, and a top comment was "heh, come try that in Texas ;)". Fantasizing, of course, that Texas has a unique bulwark against that behavior, probably having to do with gun ownership.
And then it turns out the video took place in Dallas.
We like to think there are all these barriers to bad things happening where we live. "I'm sure someone (not me) would stop that." But it turns out there isn't as much bulwark as we think. Or we're the bulwark, so if it isn't us, then there is nobody else.
It’s that sort of behavior— groups of perpetrators committing crimes— that allow people to justify enhanced surveillance tactics.
I think in years past people would have objected to sale of personal location data. But that was before people had videos of groups of lawbreakers overwhelming laws through organized efforts.
> groups of lawbreakers overwhelming laws through organized efforts
You're saying organized crime is new? Or videos of it?
People still say the same thing today. They just claim "its different" when it is used against them because scary China bad.