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Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

latimes.com

81–90 of 326 posts

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#81
post #3

Sadly, there will always be tech workers willing to do this for the right price. As I get older, I'm starting to wonder if not following my "tech morals" would've brought more success.

I'm playing the devil's advocate here but there are also a lot of tech workers who do not regard building such a database as unethical. A common fallacy on HN is to assume people who hold differing views necessarily do so egoistically, which is sometimes true but not always.

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#82

Unfortunately, with firearms registration and no-fly lists, Muslim registries are part of the slope we've set precedent for. A citizen should _never_ have to register with the government to exercise a freedom explicitly granted in the constitution.

It's an interesting argument. How could that work for things like driving, where you need to prove competency before you are legally allowed to do something?

Driving isn't listed as a Constitutional Right though.

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#83
Facebook are happy to provide a database of black people [0] to advertisers. People don't choose their race, but they can choose their religion. Arguably, allowing one over the other is supremely unfair.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/22/facebooks...

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#84

Unfortunately, with firearms registration and no-fly lists, Muslim registries are part of the slope we've set precedent for. A citizen should _never_ have to register with the government to exercise a freedom explicitly granted in the constitution.

It's an interesting argument. How could that work for things like driving, where you need to prove competency before you are legally allowed to do something?

[deleted]

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#85
Too late. There are only 7 billion people. If you don't think every major intelligence service (and a few large companies) has built a database of every person's vital statistics you are naive.

If I was the US government I would be in the process of building a full world family tree using DNA collected from battlefields and attacks. I would want to know when an attacker's cousin is entering a certain country.

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#87
post #35

I just went on Facebook and created an Ad [0] that targets only people "interested in Islam" and living the US, it took 30 seconds. [0] http://i.imgur.com/NOrGA2N.png --- Edit: Direct link

Well we could all say we were interested in Islam so that people who actually are could be interested without fear of incrimination because of it, at the same time we could educate users about putting their interests online and what it means.

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#88
post #35

I just went on Facebook and created an Ad [0] that targets only people "interested in Islam" and living the US, it took 30 seconds. [0] http://i.imgur.com/NOrGA2N.png --- Edit: Direct link

There is a big difference between advertising to users interested in Islam and shipping that dataset (or clicks, or people who use certain keywords in messages) to the government.

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#89

Unfortunately, with firearms registration and no-fly lists, Muslim registries are part of the slope we've set precedent for. A citizen should _never_ have to register with the government to exercise a freedom explicitly granted in the constitution.

equating the purchase of a shotgun to having an ethnic or religious identity is a sad statement.

Is the right to keep and bear arms not an important part of an Americans identity?

Everyone has a culture, even if from your perspective it's normal or even "low".

Re: Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims

#90

Unfortunately, with firearms registration and no-fly lists, Muslim registries are part of the slope we've set precedent for. A citizen should _never_ have to register with the government to exercise a freedom explicitly granted in the constitution.

Flying isn't a constitutionally protected right. Voting is though. Should you be able to vote without registering?
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