Re:'The Internet is for Porn' – Blackmail in 2033
by rdtsc on Wednesday August 15, 2012 @10:41AM
(#4386158)
> Ultimately, having laws most people are guilty of breaking is a valuable tool of social control.
And that is another good benchmark of an oppressive regime. A system that makes sure there are so many laws or they are so ambiguous that anyone is always guilty of something. Then they just record it all. All the times you sped by the speed camera, all the little discrepancies in your tax record, all the times you bought out of state but didn't pay sales tax to your state, all the websites you visited, everything you possibly posted online.
One day you become dissatisfied with something and choose to exercise your freedom to protest. Then someone approaches and invites you to have a a chit chat. They show you all your files and all the laws you broke and suggest that if anyone starts looking into it, it could be years of jail time, stiff penalties, or perpetual court dates and then ask the question "are you sure you want to exercise your freedom?"
With current technologies, and current set of laws, and government disposition towards recording everything (see NSA's new data center) this becomes reality right here right now in US.
And that is another good benchmark of an oppressive regime. A system that makes sure there are so many laws or they are so ambiguous that anyone is always guilty of something. Then they just record it all. All the times you sped by the speed camera, all the little discrepancies in your tax record, all the times you bought out of state but didn't pay sales tax to your state, all the websites you visited, everything you possibly posted online.
One day you become dissatisfied with something and choose to exercise your freedom to protest. Then someone approaches and invites you to have a a chit chat. They show you all your files and all the laws you broke and suggest that if anyone starts looking into it, it could be years of jail time, stiff penalties, or perpetual court dates and then ask the question "are you sure you want to exercise your freedom?"
With current technologies, and current set of laws, and government disposition towards recording everything (see NSA's new data center) this becomes reality right here right now in US.