Guess Who Determines If You Have Something To Hide Now?
When dismissing privacy concerns, many people use the idea that since they haven’t done anything wrong, they have “nothing to hide”. This disregards the most fundamental fact: it’s not them who determine if they have done anything wrong, but more likely, it’s going to be the rising fascist powers. 86 out of 766 elected Members of European Parliament belong to fascist factions, and these could actually be the ones to assume control of the mass surveillance.
There’s recently been an election in Europe that should give pause to people who say they have “nothing to hide”, so they “don’t mind surveillance”. The mass surveillance being rolled out right now means that you no longer may hold a single private conversation, no longer may walk unobserved anywhere, and no longer may look for any information without it being logged. All of it recorded to use against you later.
Some people have argued that this can’t possibly be used against them because they’re good guys, they haven’t done anything wrong. And in saying this, they make the most dangerous assumption of all: that it’s themselves who get to determine if their conversations, feelings, and unfinished thoughts are cause for governmental concern. It’s not. It’s whomever who is in power at the moment who determines that.
There’s an economic crisis sweeping the world in the US, Europe, and China. This, coupled with ivory-tower politicians who are disconnected from people’s everyday concerns, have always been a surefire recipe for a rise of hardline parties who promise order by striking down on minority groups in society – anything from people who happen to be born to love people of their own gender to people born with the slightly wrong shade of skin or lineage.
86 out of 766 elected to the European Parliament were fascist or similar hardline parties. Seven elected were openly Nazi. These are the people who will listen to all your conversations, see all your connections, read all your thoughts, and then determine if they think you have done anything wrong.
86 out of 766 may seem insignificant (11.2%). However, they are not evenly distributed across European states. In Denmark, the Dansk Folkeparti was the largest party with 27% of the votes. In France, the even worse Front National was the largest party with 25% of the votes. Whoops. I guess it sucks to be Danish and French if you should ever get mass surveillance in place. Ohwait, they already have that.
Also, that size of a political force – over 10% – means that more or less all the others will move in their direction to prevent bleeding more votes to them.
Just how hostile is a party like the Front National? To put it into context, its founder recently said that “The immigration is nothing that Mr. Ebola can’t solve in three months”, suggesting a mass execution of minorities was a perfectly reasonable and uncontroversial solution to society’s problems. This was just voted the largest party in France. Are you really, really comfortable with that kind of government determining whether your conversations, thoughts, dating habits, and information searches are cause for concern – in their eyes, not yours?
This brings us back to the crucial lessons for civil liberties:
The #1 rule for mass surveillance is that it will be happily used by the next regime in power, which you can’t predict today. If you can’t give it to your worst enemy, don’t allow it at all.
The #2 rule for mass surveillance is that it’s never you who determine if you have something to hide.
Surveillance doesn’t give safety. It never did. Just imagine mass surveillance on the rise on the same time as outright fascist political parties – what could possibly go horribly, horribly wrong here?
Privacy remains your own responsibility.
Comments are closed.
6 Comments
Pingback: Short Copy 26 May - 1 Jun: One year of NSA leaks | Copy-me
Pingback: Devinez qui va déterminer si vous avez quelque chose à cacher maintenant ? | Paul Camin 77
You are barking up the wrong tree. The so called ‘Far right’ parties that you mention will remove us out of EU and abolish surveillance laws. Massive immigration is bad for any country especially when immigrants come to get social benefits and don’t want to even adapt to our culture or learn our language or customs or even believe in Democracy and are Anti-Semitic. Most of the immigrants in Europe live on government benefits. This cannot continue forever. Many years of ‘far leftists’ parties in Europe had send Europe into a downfall. All the surveillance laws and EU integration was set up by them to begin with.
You’re right, the Nazis in Europarl indeed don’t come from France (but one of them did come from Germany, and a few arguably from Greece).
The purpose of this article was not to debate immigration policy or other policies (as you argue “far lefties leading to downfall”). That’s far beyond the scope of the concept of privacy, and I won’t address that. How somebody votes is their own conscience.
However, history is brutal in its observation that a new regime with different goals have always happily taken over the enforcement mechanisms from a previous regime. I have seen absolutely nothing to indicate that such parties would abolish surveillance laws, and history indicates no such thing will happen.
Therefore, the point of this article is to illustrate that your worst enemy – regardless of who that may be – may be holding the reins to the surveillance tomorrow, and that it’s never you who determine if you’re law-abiding or not.
Cheers,
Rick
Thanks for the clarification. Cheers.
Rick:
Great point. You have only have to look at the expansion of domestic spying under the Obama administration inherited from the Bush regime in the US.
This combined with the fact FEMA and DHS have documents planning for the detention of US citizens and internet traffic watch list with common words the average person might use it supports you assertion.
Apparently, writing this and expressing my belief in strong constitutional rights is no viewed by the US government as a domestic threat.