Ever heard of the Panopticon [1]? The NSA is a modern, digital, version of it.

There was a time when a person could go online to look up recipes or shop for backpacks [2] without thinking twice about it. Not anymore, Panoptes has eyes on us all. Our minds know this, and in turn, our behavior changes.

I realize that this isn't exactly what you're saying, and living under the DPRK is absolutely worse than NSA surveillance. But, there are unseen repercussions to the death of privacy that are often overlooked, or downplayed. Ahead of everything else, the NSA and the DPRK control our devices by controlling us.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/01/new-york-polic...

Well truth be told, I think that's a more powerful mechanism of control because it provides an illusion of privacy and control to the user.

As horrible as it is, the censorship provides a means of protection for the end user. In the US we just let people access things, and then prosecute/persecute, them accordingly.

With the above said-- I'd still prefer to be in the US to the DPRK any day of the week, month, year, or century.