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The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

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201–210 of 494 posts

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#201

How does this stuff keep happening? Like no one wants it in the public why is it still coming up?

I'm in the public and I want this bill. My senator is one of the sponsors and I'm happy to see it. I think a large portion of society is now following enough echo chambers that they believe that nobody opposes their position, when usually... it's a pretty big chunk of society, actually, that they just never interact with or talk to.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#202
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike McConnell, there doesn't seem to be a lot of "regular joe" support for Feinstein. There's practically nobody in this thread singing her praises... even among her fellow D's.

I suspect that's because the Democrats, in recent times, haven't pursued "party purity" to the same extent as the Republicans. It's a more fractured electorate without the few "big ticket" issues that the GOP weaponizes (guns, god, and gays). But, when you look at Feinstein's accomplishments, she has represent her constituents as well as anybody... She authored the Respect for Marriage Act (undoing the conservative D…

> I suspect that's because the Democrats, in recent times, haven't pursued "party purity" to the same extent as the Republicans. It's a more fractured electorate without the few "big ticket" issues that the GOP weaponizes (guns, god, and gays).

The Republican Party of today is changing right before our eyes. Many hard-line issues are becoming soft - famously recently with Trump and his complete lack of religiousness.

Many of the other hard-line issues were distorted by political opponents, such as your claimed "gay" issue (when viewed through a religious lens, the marriage issue makes more sense, it wasn't really about people's sexual preference, it was about a specific word. if anything, republicans are absolutely terrible at getting their message across, consistently... but I digress...).

The point was, the younger generation of Republicans do not staunchly adhere to these "classical" Republican views - and the party is changing. The Republican Party seems to represent a lot more working-class people and minority groups today than a decade ago - voter segments that historically were under lock-and-key for Democrats.

To that end, the Democrat party is also changing; getting pulled a lot more left-ward than most average Liberals are comfortable with. It's a weird world where the likes of John Stewart and Bill Maher sound more like conservatives than liberals.

Both parties have found themselves within an identity crisis. My gut tells me there will be a course correction for the Democratic party not to distant in the future, and the Republican party will continue to "liberalize" as the younger generation takes over. We'll see where the road takes us all...

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#203
I really appreciate that EFF has a convenient way to reach out to reps. If you’re a US citizen and reading this thread, I highly recommend using EFF’s tool to write to your reps. They have a pre written message and it takes 30 seconds to send it out.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#204
post #7

A reminder that "you have nothing to hide" argument is a fallacy because people abuse their power: Some first hits as reminders of places where their powers are abused [1]: "NSA staff used spy tools on spouses, ex-lovers: watchdog" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-surveillance-watchdog... [2]: https://reason.com/2022/07/26/police-can-access-your-ring-ca... [3]: https://reason.com/2021/04/26/warrantless-border-s…

Well also the 4th amendment.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#205
post #3

I'm so tired. I wish we didn't have to keep going through constant attacks on our privacy. I know they're hoping that people will give up after a point out of weariness, and I'm afraid when it comes to many people they're right.

Remember when major websites used to blackout over TTIP and SOPA? Those were good days. Now many of the same websites (eg Reddit) are owned by large entities who don't care. Probably because they've made their money, so who needs a free Internet?

Cynically, I know each time these platforms do such a thing the response will be less and less effective. The bad-faith actors in government pushing for this know that and have demonstrated that they just need to wait a little while between attempts before resistance diminishes enough to make its passage viable.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#206
post #3

I'm so tired. I wish we didn't have to keep going through constant attacks on our privacy. I know they're hoping that people will give up after a point out of weariness, and I'm afraid when it comes to many people they're right.

I feel like we just have to hold out for another couple of decades - until there aren't any boomers left in government. This whole clusterfuck is a result of old people not knowing their ass from a pihole.

You may want to check out the list of the sponsors of this bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/120...

And that's just the sponsors, not the people who will vote for it. Some on that list do belong in nursing homes, but age is not a factor. It's mostly just the political establishment and newcomers hoping to join that establishment.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For people who say they have nothing to hide, I ask them why they have locks on their doors, passwords to their email, and clothes on their body.

Easy: Thieves, scammers, and public decency laws, in that order.

> Thieves, scammers

Which means they do have things to hide. There are lots of thieves in places of power, and that is a compelling reason not to let them have our data.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#208
post #7

A reminder that "you have nothing to hide" argument is a fallacy because people abuse their power: Some first hits as reminders of places where their powers are abused [1]: "NSA staff used spy tools on spouses, ex-lovers: watchdog" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-surveillance-watchdog... [2]: https://reason.com/2022/07/26/police-can-access-your-ring-ca... [3]: https://reason.com/2021/04/26/warrantless-border-s…

Anyone who uses that argument, ask them to hand you their phone, unlocked, and a list of passwords for all of their accounts. If you have nothing to hide, why would you have a problem with me poking around in the most intimate aspects of your life?

Not fully comparable because passwords usually give you more than just read access.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#209
post #7

A reminder that "you have nothing to hide" argument is a fallacy because people abuse their power: Some first hits as reminders of places where their powers are abused [1]: "NSA staff used spy tools on spouses, ex-lovers: watchdog" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-surveillance-watchdog... [2]: https://reason.com/2022/07/26/police-can-access-your-ring-ca... [3]: https://reason.com/2021/04/26/warrantless-border-s…

Anyone who uses that argument, ask them to hand you their phone, unlocked, and a list of passwords for all of their accounts. If you have nothing to hide, why would you have a problem with me poking around in the most intimate aspects of your life?

The really crazy part is that I have multiple friends and family that would turn over their info to me with no questions asked.

Re: The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

#210
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I routinely pose that question to my kids. And yet, they still poop with the door open. And without the ventilation fan. I keep hoping that eventually I will get through to them. Maybe I'll just put a spring-loaded hinge on the bathroom doors and a motion-activated ventilation fan.

Take them to a public toilet. There is a difference between pooping in front of family and in front of strangers.

Is it irony that doing this (or even your comment) would likely land you in really big trouble under the purpose of this act?
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