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Comment by SmellyGeekBoy | Hacker News Reader

I'm not so sure, I think I'd rather be spied on by my own country.

That's very silly. Between all of the people capable of spying on you, it's exactly your own country that has the most ability to harm you. The Chinese government can't arrest you if you're not in China, but your government can.

China can assassinate you on foreign soil - as Russia has demonstrated, the consequences for this are essentially nil.

For a nuclear power petrostate with minimal economic ties. China would get the shit boycotted out of them at least and Iran would get the shit bombed out of them as many politicians have been caught openly drooling at the prospect.

Says you, a random internet commentor.

Meanwhile international diplomacy's track record is clear.

That's generally how I see it. For the most part, other countries don't care much about you. You're only subject to their laws in particular circumstances. And taking you into custody is relatively complicated and expensive.

But there are exceptions. China has gone after supporters of the Dalai Lama globally. Dropping malware, backdooring servers, etc. But yes, they can't arrest you.

The US, on the other hand, has more "friends". Consider The Pirate Bay. Even Russia has turned over "cybercriminals".

Not sensible because your own country has jurisdiction over you and therefore more relevance. This is why I recommend russian proxies for a western audience. I doubt the russian government will trade data with domestic agencies.

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