Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’ • Hacker News Board

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#31

Post by thrush » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:04 PM UTC

mikeash wrote: post #15

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"With only a bare majority of Americans opposed to U.S. government anti-terrorism surveillance," it's first and foremost a political one [1]. [1] http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/26/few-see-adequate-limi...

More specifically, a public opinion problem. Techies tend to think that the US government has gone rogue and is defying the people, who universally want to tone this stuff down. But really, the government is just responding to the will of the people here. Many Americans are terrified of terrorism and approve of these sorts of government efforts to fight it.

I could see where you're coming from, but the two objective arguments I see that argue for the toning down of government surveillance, or at least major changes to our surveillance system would be:

1. The current policies and attitude are [seemingly] going to have negative economic impacts of enormous proportions.

2. Surveillance will always be a cat and mouse game as technology improves, and surveillance will become increasingly difficult, perhaps impossible.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#32

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:07 PM UTC

ColinDabritz wrote: post #30

hahainternet wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the distinction is between "Fear of being surveilled" and "Fear of the NSA surveillance program"

Exactly, the headline turns "the surveillance we are doing and have done" will break the internet, to "being afraid of surveillance" (implying "without reason") will break the internet.

[deleted]

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#33

Post by kefka » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:09 PM UTC

ColinDabritz wrote: post #30

hahainternet wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the distinction is between "Fear of being surveilled" and "Fear of the NSA surveillance program"

Exactly, the headline turns "the surveillance we are doing and have done" will break the internet, to "being afraid of surveillance" (implying "without reason") will break the internet.

It's very evident that he was directly referring to the NSA spying program. Unless they were living under a rock since Snowden, the direct reason is the NSA.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#34

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:12 PM UTC

brianstorms wrote: post #3

Schmidt did NOT say that surveillance fears are going to "end up breaking the internet." That is the Washington Post's misleading headline. He spoke more about the erosion of international trust because of American surveillance activities. To hear what Schmidt did say, watch the actual video. He starts talking at around the 21-minute point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-P4Q-M1tW8 The actual quote is at around 24:…

[deleted]

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#35

Post by asadotzler » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:13 PM UTC

hahainternet wrote: post #20

dmix wrote: post #5

Eric "if-you-nothing-to-hide" Schmidt slams NSA?

Year later and people still misquote that, you should look up the reality of your quote.

The misquote is close enough.

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

Years later and people are still defending the indefensible by calling into question the messengers instead of responding to his actual message.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#36

Post by asadotzler » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:13 PM UTC

Eric Schmidt:

If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines -- including Google -- do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#37

Post by brightsize » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:15 PM UTC

mikeash wrote: post #15

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"With only a bare majority of Americans opposed to U.S. government anti-terrorism surveillance," it's first and foremost a political one [1]. [1] http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/26/few-see-adequate-limi...

More specifically, a public opinion problem. Techies tend to think that the US government has gone rogue and is defying the people, who universally want to tone this stuff down. But really, the government is just responding to the will of the people here. Many Americans are terrified of terrorism and approve of these sorts of government efforts to fight it.

The US government's propaganda machine is what made Americans "terrified of terrorism" in the first place. The government is sowing terror propaganda quite intentionally in order to claim and retain (historically, in the US) exceptional powers to control its own citizens. If the propaganda was toned down to 1/1000th its current volume, I think we'd suffer far less intrusion into our lives and would be no less safe, but the government would be the loser, with all of these mechanisms of control vanishing.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#38

Post by asadotzler » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:15 PM UTC

thrush wrote: post #2

How would things change if Schmidt held political office? What if all big time VCs we're politicians too. Basically, what I am wondering is whether this is a policy problem or a technology problem.

Schmidt is not trustworthy when it comes to privacy. His views are stoneage. Seriously, would you trust any politician that said "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." because that's Mr Schmidt's well documented position.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#39

Post by lispm » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:18 PM UTC

Google has contributed to that nicely. Google undermined privacy wherever possible. They make money from having access to as much other peoples data as possible.

Re: Google’s Schmidt: Surveillance fears are ‘going to end up breaking the Internet’

#40

Post by joesmo » Thu, Oct 09, 2014, 5:29 PM UTC

asadotzler wrote: post #36

Eric Schmidt: If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines -- including Google -- do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made…

I can think of a ton of legal things that I don't want anyone to know about that I should be doing. Eric Schmidt will say anything to advance his own agenda, regardless of truth.