> I'm amazed at the amount of discussion, period. The article factually laid out the small amount of information encoded in the QR code, walked through the data format, and showed it to be pretty minimal and well-designed. No URLs, no hidden trackers, no evil ad salesman selling your browser history. Yet here we are at the #1 spot on HN and almost 400 comments. Full of conspiracy theories, COVID-downplayers and anti-vaxxers. I'm trying to connect the dots between a QR code and the New World Order, and I'm coming up empty. I thought HN was above this and wish this stuff could stay on Facebook and Twitter.

No one cares about the qr codes themselves and I think you are willingly ignoring the main point. The problem is that you need to show a government issued "pass" to access almost any public space. You may be okay with that but please don't pretend it's nothing new and it's always been like that. Asking for a digital certificate to live your life normally is unprecedented, but I guess at least it's not ads? Who talked about that anyways, can't both things be bad? I guess what the NSA does is alright since it's unrelated to a new world order or ad tracking?

As for antivaxxers or covid downplayers, Imo pretending this whole apparatus is needed is the real anti vaxxer position. The vaccines work, and if someone doesn't want to take them the risk is on them. Downplaying covid now is the pro vax position, while yours imply vaccines barely work so we need precedent setting measures like these. I mean the comment that started this subthread is literally saying that vaccines work so the straw man you are building is absurd