SquirrellyDan said:
1872walker said:
SquirrellyDan said:
1872walker said:
Unfortunately that day changed so much more than acceptable language. It really set off the slow drip of acquiescing privacy and civil liberties in the name of "safety".
People freely give up their privacy and civil liberties to big tech. That has a much bigger impact than any laws written in the name of national security have done.
Big tech and the government are partners. Their goals are different but it's a mutually beneficial relationship. Sure most are willing to give up a lot of privacy as a trade off to convenience, but through the Patriot Act and mass surveillance programs and technologies, it's far more complicated than a willing decision on the part of a private citizen.
My point is Big tech is a mass surveillance program, larger than anything the government has. People willfully participate in it regardless of the level of cooperation with the government.
Big tech is not separate from the government. They are the collection person
for the government.
I understand your point but again it goes far deeper. You're willingly walking down the street in a major city. So is having your face scanned and put into a database an acceptable trade off for participation in society?
Is having the metadata of every phone call you make from your landline an acceptable trade off for being able to call your relatives in a different state?
Yes. Big tech is a problem. Yes. They are allowed to collect data that helps their bottom lines by way of individuals willing to use products from Google and the like that make their daily life easier.
But these are all technologies that are allowed by policies enacted by our government as a reaction of this terrible day and are contrary to the spirit of the Constitution if not the letter.
It's one thing to make a decision to allow a tech company have a digital record of your life by clicking "Accept" on a EULA". It's completely different to have your own government take that data (and far more) without your knowledge or consent. Often times illegally and always without recourse.
Hence why I made the distinction in my initial post between privacy (big tech) and civil liberties (our own government).
Government is enabling the abuses by tech companies when they should be restricting them.