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I know of no government ever that has been so benevolent that its citizens didn't benefit from privacy and security.

This implies that said governments are bad. Or have the perception of it.

You know who benefits from VPNs, privacy, and security?

The proud boys. Russia. China. Steve Bannon. And their bots, that's who. They are a threat to civil society at present, and they're using that very privacy and security to organize to destroy the thing you're trying to "protect" by drinking Barlow's kool-aid.

I prefer the idea of internet governance via third party instead of the state. Flip it on it's head, where instead of government spying on everyone, we're in control of the surveillance democratically through consensus. But there needs to be some kind of governance of some kind.

Those people also benefit from cash, opaque walls, and freedom of speech. That bad people benefit from something is hardly a damning case against it.

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