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

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

#431

Post by kelnos »

whydoyoucare wrote: post #318
DocTomoe wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, politics understands that alright, don't you worry about that. Politicians are the enemies of privacy for the masses, because a transparent population is a population that is easier controlled and manipulated. That's also why terms are being used deliberately incorrectly, to move legitimate positions nearer to criminal activity. Just ask anyone interested in hobbyist chemistry.

[flagged]

The term "illegal aliens" is an invention. "Immigrant" doesn't care about legality; it is literally just someone who has moved from another locale. Labeling one variant "legal" and another "illegal" is perfectly reasonable.

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

#432

Post by kelnos »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #314
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…

I think "why do you have the right to know?" is a decent answer. "What level of trust do you think you've earned?" "What do you want to do with all this information?" "How will this make things better?' "Don't you have more important things to spend time and money on?" "Is this really the best thing the government should be working on right now?" "How does this help any of society's ills?" "Will taxes need to be incr…

I also think a decent strategy is to start asking for all sorts of specific private information, like their social security number, bank account numbers, and passwords. Ask them to make a copy of their keys so you can enter their house any time you want and watch what they're doing, go through their things, etc. Tell them that you want to put up cameras in their bedroom and bathroom that stream to the internet 24/7.

Keep escalating until they balk. Once that happens: "oh, so you do value your privacy?"

If they actually do share this sort of info with you, give you copies of their keys, and let you put up cameras in their house, it's probably safe to say that they are part of a vanishingly small minority, and you really don't need to care about their views on privacy. (Hopefully this assertion ages well years from now.)

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

#433

Post by xkfiebfifbek »

trinsic2 wrote: post #359
notRobot wrote: 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.

Illegitimate governments stay in power because we legitimize them with our energy. To stop power centralizing requires that the people supporting it shift their energy to something else, preferably local initiatives that center around people doing things for people..

but a few ppl with guns and a mandate on violence can maximize the energy they give.

there's a reason early central governments were all symbolized by a stick.

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

#434

Post by JPws_Prntr_Fngr »

anigbrowl wrote: post #178
JPws_Prntr_Fngr wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By accepting their framing of "CSAM vs personal privacy" as the moral conundrum, you have already lost. You will be forced to compromise over and over, trading a little liberty for a little security, "for the children." As if the "intelligence community" that ran Jeffrey Epstein is going to use their shiny new surveillance powers to eradicate pedophilia.

That's wrong. CSAM is a problem, the tech industry has failed to get to grips with how easily it facilitates CSAM sharing (not dissimilar to piracy, though I support the latter), and until the tech industry can point to a credible CSAM mitigation policy proposal it will keep looping back to the CSAM-v-privacy framing. Skip the rhetorical flourishes and come up with a proposal that addresses the issue. If you refuse t…

> Skip the rhetorical flourishes and come up with a proposal that addresses the issue.

You're right, here's my proposal: we install 24/7 camera surveillance in the home of every suspected pedophile. We'll start with you, since our Proprietary Algorithms have determined that those who point fingers and yell the loudest are usually the biggest pervs.

In the meantime, keep on glowing buddy!

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

#435

Post by kelnos »

borski wrote: post #61
dehrmann wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> FEINSTEIN Many years ago, I remember she supported a similar bill around limiting encryption. Around six months later, it was reported some government agency was spying on senators' emails, and she wasn't happy. I don't think she made the connection between the two, or that she supports widespread data collection when it's not her data.

I met her at an SVLG dinner and had a discussion about encryption; it became instantly clear she doesn’t know what a computer is past that it is a TV that takes input, and that encryption is just “evil people wanting to do evil things.” There was no reasoning with her either, frankly because she is well-aged, and thus thinks herself “wise” with very little left to learn. It was honestly infuriating. [edit] In case an…

Absolutely disgusting that people like this are responsible for making legislative decisions about technology. Her retirement in 2024 can't come soon enough. Though with her failing health, her retirement actually may come soon enough.

We really need term limits for Congresspeople. I hesitate to suggest age limits, as one's ability and aptitude for governing later in life depends on many factors, but that may be appropriate as well.

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

#436

Post by kelnos »

jimbob45 wrote: post #167
pc86 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even among the dinosaurs in the US Senate, Feinstein stands alone in her striking ability to be willfully ignorant about anything developed after the steam locomotive. The country would be an objectively better place if both the House and Senate had a mandatory retirement age.

In fairness, she’s announced that she won’t seek re-election in 2024.

And her health has been failing recently, which has been a big problem for operations in the Senate (judicial appointments have stalled as there is now no party majority on the judiciary committee). She claims she will still serve the rest of her term, but I think there's a decent chance she'll eventually see the light and step down within the next few months. (Though this might just be wishful thinking on my part.)

The downside there is that Gov. Newsom then gets to appoint someone to serve the rest of her term, and then will have the incumbent advantage in 2024, even if they turn out to be not that great. But I think that's probably preferable to the current situation.

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

#437

Post by kelnos »

rnk wrote: post #121
borski wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I met her at an SVLG dinner and had a discussion about encryption; it became instantly clear she doesn’t know what a computer is past that it is a TV that takes input, and that encryption is just “evil people wanting to do evil things.” There was no reasoning with her either, frankly because she is well-aged, and thus thinks herself “wise” with very little left to learn. It was honestly infuriating. [edit] In case an…

This is why we need more tech people to get into politics. And I'm not thinking billionaire ceos. I'm talking about devs, qa, pm, people that did actual work.

The problem is that politics has become a career. If you want to get elected to anything beyond a low-level local position, you need to put years of your life into it, and decades if you want a national political role with any clout. That essentially means that these tech people won't have time for a career in tech anymore. Maybe some would find that interesting or desirable, but I'd bet most would not.

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

#438

Post by [deleted] »

lockhouse wrote: post #170
coldpie wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Her brain is pea soup. I'm pretty sure she is not capable of connecting things.

Between Feinstein, Biden, and Fetterman it's starting to look like an annual cognitive test may need to become a qualification for Federal government office. The two party system and the rigging of primaries leaves us with electing braindead meat puppets as the lesser of two evils. What a sad state of affairs.

[deleted]

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

#439

Post by kelnos »

wholinator2 wrote: post #139
jdminhbg wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California uses "jungle primaries" where the top two vote getters regardless of party advance to the general election. You can't blame the two-party system here, voters could easily choose another Democrat if that's what they wanted.

Unless it's ranked choice doesnt it still fall to the "least bad" fallacy? Like, people aren't sure that everyone else is going to vote the democrat they want and are afraid if they don't vote for the most likely, then they'll dilute the vote to the point that none of their chosen party wins? I mean, sure, if the democratic vote was a monolith that was capable of making a single choice or even knowing what its own ch…

I think you misunderstand: in California, all candidates, from all parties, run in a single primary (there is no separate "Democratic primary" or "Republican primary"). The top two candidates for each office from that primary are the only ones who advance to the general election. Since California is so heavily Democratic, often what happens is the general election is Democrat vs. Democrat. That was the case in 2018, when Kevin de Leon (another Democrat) ran against Feinstein and lost. Though not by a landslide, only by about 9 points.

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

#440

Post by SamoyedFurFluff »

ambientenv wrote: post #429
BizarroLand wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"IT PROTECTS THE CHILDREN!" they'll scream, while using it to take more power away from society and concentrate it into their own hands. Surveillance isn't some harmless thing, because you can tell a million lies with a drop of the truth in them for any reason you want. Imagine you get established in life and decide to run for local politics only to have the fact that you've gone to Vegas 4 times in your life somehow…

When you step back and look objectively and in an unbiased manner, you see that we (humans) are a species of dominance rather than collaborative partnership. It is a world where individuals must earn the privilege of survival, and by earn I don't mean only in a monetary sense but also a gatekeeper sense. Life is not of precious value; power and control are. This, and the commodification of labour, land, and money are…

I really disagree with this. We are not a species of dominance over partnership. We are a species that requires partnership to function, with mostly socially constructed competition for position within our greater society. But fundamentally we need each other equally. We live for two generations so that we can also raise the grandchildren with the parents. We have language to communicate and plan together. Many of us develop empathy and compassion fairly early on, making friends that don’t benefit us except for the delight of a peer. This is our basal nature. I would argue that systems of exploitation are the more unnatural state- racism must be taught from an early age, for example.
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