A few people mention EU. Let me remind you:
> European Commission Revives Push for Encryption Backdoors in ProtectEU Strategy, Framing Mass Surveillance as “Lawful Access”
https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-protecteu-strategy-encryption-b...
Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
191–200 of 292 posts
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
You could flip that argument. The bar set to remain was too low. As for 16 years old voting, I'd argue the age to vote should be raised to 21. > Some particularly pernicious lies on the leave side too convincing Both sides lied, both sides exaggerated. The referendum to simply leave or remain would never have happened if UK Parliament went to the public more often with referendums about various treaties such as Maast…
>> As for 16 years old voting, I'd argue the age to vote should be raised to 21. Why? Brexit will impact 16 year olds for decades. A large number of the old farts who voted for it are dead now and won't have to suffer the consequences. If you're going to adjust voting ages but don't want to lower it, it makes sense that those over 75 don't get a say in something like Brexit. And if your thought is that 16 year olds d…
Well if you're dismissive of an entire generation by calling them 'old farts', I'm not sure I can take you 'better informed 16 years old' argument seriously.
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#193Generally speaking the more important an issue is, the less it is allowed to be affected by democratic processes. That's why Brexit was such a big upset, it bucked the trend (the management miscalculated, nobody expected the result and would not have put it to referendum otherwise).
It was virtually 50/50 and should not have proceeded. The bar to leave was set too low. 2/3rd better, and larger turnout should have been mandated. 16 year olds should have voted. The campaign to stay too weak. Mass confusion. Some particularly pernicious lies on the leave side too convincing. Brexit wasn't 100% going to happen, it was more like... Leave 17,410,742 51.89% Remain 16,141,241 48.11%
"We lost, let's change the rules"
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure that's an argument that shines good light on brexit voters.
It’s not supposed to. There is no light that can present anybody who voted for Brexit as anything other than a fuckwit.
Depends on whether you are referring to the Brexit that was actually implemented or any conceivable type of Brexit.
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
Every political party in the UK supports things like the Digital Rights Act. So what is a person to do?
If these policies were deeply unpopular then political parties wouldn't support them because they'd be giving an easy win to their opponents. Truth is no one really cares.
Truth is these things are being pushed by heads of department behind the politicians, the ones who have lifetime jobs and dont get voted in. These people and lobbying business owners are pushing very hard on all politicians and lawmakers to force this through, which is why there are more and more politicians in favour of it who dont even understand it.
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#196Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#197And water is wet. Of course Brits are going to answer that they'd rather not have the government read their private correspondence. But at the same time there has been very little protest over draconian legislation in the UK like the Online Safety Act and RIPA Part 3 that cover just these aspects.
The Online Safety Act has broad support from the people of the UK from the left and right combined. Nobody is stopping anyone protesting against it, but it is not imposed by some imaginary uniparty fascist regime, it is something people want.
Most Brits have no idea what's in the Online Safety Act since it expressly mandates the neutering of end-to-end encryption in messaging apps.
And protesting is very difficult when everyone doing so is branded a child molester.
Britain isn't a true democracy. Neither is Australia. They're Orwellian societies where the populace has been trained to believe that "the government knows best."
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually that was by design of the anti-Brexit faction. Before you get ranty at me - I voted remain. But your comment is revisionist. The pro-Brexit shysters were not in power. After the referendum, whichever way it went, the pro-Brexit people were not going to be given power, it was not an election. They had no mandate to implement anything. Any plan they promised would have been irrelevant to the UK government and…
I think you're being revisionist. It's not about the people in power, it was about the media. They controlled the narrative, and they were the ones that convinced everyone of illegal bendy bananas. > The very pro-EU faction at the head of the Tory government. When has any tory ever been pro-eu? i think you're misremembering how things went down.
"The media" is not an entity and anybody with enough money can become "part of it". If you think "the media" controls the public opinion, you can just let the money vote directly, this is simply not a environment where democracy can exist. People still need to think for themself, if they refuse to do, it's their choice.
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#199Earlier quoted context omitted.
Britain leaving the EU purely because a majority voted for it in a popular vote is a pretty bad example to use in support of the claim that democracy isn't real. It's probably this sort of vague cynicism about democracy that led Cameron to call the referendum in the first place, only to discover that people can actually vote however they like!
Democracy requires an informed electorate. Just having the right to vote isn't enough.
Yeah, but you can't legislate people to care.
Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
It works better with an informed electorate. However, one of the reasons that voters don't bother informing themselves is the campaign of cynicism aimed at convincing them that all political parties are the same, that their vote doesn't matter, etc. etc. One might just as well say that an informed population requires democracy: why bother keeping track of national policy if you have no control over it? In the days af…
Which is how autocracy governments get hold of countries without military action, it only needs enough patience and uninformed electorate to win the election. They can even argue it was the will of the people to get a dictorship.
> They can even argue it was the will of the people to get a dictorship.
Is there an example where "they" have not done that?