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How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

thehill.com

1–10 of 19 posts

Re: How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

#4

Absolute least of my worries. Maybe if they spy on me enough they can figure out whodunnit when I get murdered, I'd really appreciate that.

This is completely missing the point of why one needs privacy. Lack of it harms journalism and activism, making the government too powerful and not accountable. If only activists and journalists will try to have the privacy, it will be much easier to target them. Everyone should have privacy to protect them. It’s sort of like freedom of speech is necessary not just for journalists, but for everyone, even if you have nothing to say.

Re: How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

#6
When issues like this come up, people say 'there's nothing we can do'. People believed they could change law enforcement in SF by recalling the DA, the Trumpists certainly believed they could take over the GOP and win widely, and they did. Why are we so lacking in faith in our enormous power?

Re: How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

#7

I guess we had better call law enforcement to get the FBI prosecuted, and get them to start following the law. Who do we call? Certainly not the FBI. Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

We elect people to Congress and to the White House.

Re: How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

#8

Perhaps controversial but I think the FBI should have its policing powers taken away, and reverted back to a scientific agency that assists law enforcement, not investigate and make arrests of its own.

Who does national-level policing? There are national-level crimes, such as espionage and terrorism, and others that require national-scale resources.

Re: How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

#9
post #4

Absolute least of my worries. Maybe if they spy on me enough they can figure out whodunnit when I get murdered, I'd really appreciate that.

This is completely missing the point of why one needs privacy. Lack of it harms journalism and activism, making the government too powerful and not accountable. If only activists and journalists will try to have the privacy, it will be much easier to target them. Everyone should have privacy to protect them. It’s sort of like freedom of speech is necessary not just for journalists, but for everyone, even if you have…

Well I want privacy from other things, I do. It just so happens the FBI isn't in my threat model, to the contrary of what the ACLU and civil liberty advocates talk about. I really didn't expect it to turn out that way.

Privacy is kind of a fantasy, though. The concept of privacy. There's a quintillion amplifiers made every year (ie transistors), and that rate is increasing rapidly. Moore's law is essentially antithetical to actual privacy, meaning nobody knowing your secret.

What there is is keeping a low profile and avoiding emphasis on what you don't want amplified and repeated. Working the system.

Re: How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

#10
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is completely missing the point of why one needs privacy. Lack of it harms journalism and activism, making the government too powerful and not accountable. If only activists and journalists will try to have the privacy, it will be much easier to target them. Everyone should have privacy to protect them. It’s sort of like freedom of speech is necessary not just for journalists, but for everyone, even if you have…

Well I want privacy from other things, I do. It just so happens the FBI isn't in my threat model, to the contrary of what the ACLU and civil liberty advocates talk about. I really didn't expect it to turn out that way. Privacy is kind of a fantasy, though. The concept of privacy. There's a quintillion amplifiers made every year (ie transistors), and that rate is increasing rapidly. Moore's law is essentially antithet…

The number of transistors does not affect the privacy. It's how they are used. Try free software, which respects users. Works for me (by increasing the cost to spy, which is enough for the goal I stated).

>What there is is keeping a low profile and avoiding emphasis on what you don't want amplified and repeated. Working the system.

How is this helping anyone? If you have no privacy, your own emphasis doesn't matter.

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