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

Post by csomar » Sat, Apr 22, 2023, 4:49 AM UTC

kipchak wrote: post #261

gherkinnn wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rubbish. Why can't this idiotic meme die already?

While the above is overly simplistic, the basic concept has historical precedent under the general umbrella Social Cycle Theory which is likely why it persists. The same basic idea is described in Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah as "Asabiyyah", for example. There is also the Greek kyklos, or the more recent Cyclical Theory[1], Strauss-Howe generational theory or Secular cycles theory,[2] which roughly maps on to the meme's…

Post by BLKNSLVR » Sat, Apr 22, 2023, 5:22 AM UTC

MikeDelta wrote: post #230

maerF0x0 wrote: 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…

Many seem to not realize that privacy is not about having something to hide (I guess that would be secrecy), but about the right to keep things to yourself. Those are two different concepts.

Post by u801e » Sat, Apr 22, 2023, 5:48 AM UTC

joebob42 wrote: post #376

tialaramex wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice your bank password is indeed a secret, and that's a bad thing, because that above definition is wrong, which is why I prefer to think about the U2 lyric (from "The Fly"): "They say a Secret is something you tell one other person, so I'm telling you, child". The bank knows your password. Which means they (or more precisely their agents, employees, etc.) can lose it yet they'll probably try to blame you. It…

Don't they usually store a hash of it? And doesn't it therefore for the most part work exactly the way you say it ideally should? Of course leaking the hash of my password might make it easier to crack, to some extent, but if they've done a good job then this is much better than it being something the bank can trivially lose.

Post by dabluecaboose » Sat, Apr 22, 2023, 5:55 AM UTC

autoexec wrote: post #367

akomtu wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imho, sponsors of this bill want to collect dossiers and use them to blackmail opponents in the future. For example, you want to do something unpopular and a noisy council member opposes your plan. You reach to the "official and confidential" box, find there a personal file on that politician, conveniently created by the AI-scanner, share your discoveries with him and suddenly he changes his mind.

> Imho, sponsors of this bill want to collect dossiers and use them to blackmail opponents in the future. I wonder how it is that the NSA hasn't already enabled that. One of my early concerns with government spying is that we'd up with some kind of NeoMcCarthyism on crack where someone in power would be able to discredit any inconvenient person or even identify and eliminate the career of a potential opponent before…

Post by dang » Sat, Apr 22, 2023, 6:01 AM UTC

Dalewyn wrote: post #324

dang wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I covered that point (or thought I did!) with the second sentence in my GP comment. The issue is what it does to us as a community. That's significant. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Comment in question concerned what the poster personally experienced, which clearly wasn't a pleasant/positive one. If you want to demand he prove he met Feinstein in person, well, that's certainly within your power as moderator and owner of this space. But as far as what he owes to the community, I think he doesn't have to explain anything of his experience interacting with someone. He interacted with Feinstein, his…