What costs do individuals have to pay when their government is very good at identifying them?
When you have a piece of data available, it tends to get used. How could that be a bad thing when enhancing identifiably is the topic?
When you have a piece of data available, it tends to get used. How could that be a bad thing when enhancing identifiably is the topic?
Who says it needs to be a secret? The past shows that people happily let things happen out in the open. The present should show you that plenty of people still have the loyalty above all mentality and would easily be manipulated into doing whatever was desired.
Just leak demographic data to the proud boys and when they do things, low key condemn them but not really.
How have whistleblowers been working out lately? There have been many and the effects have been... underwhelming.
Anyway, the ability of governments to identify their citizens is technological problem. Overall during our history we agreed to potential of being identified by governments. Tech brings new tools to them. I wish they could adopt them quicker.
Overall we shouldn't be afraid of new tech and more reliability. But what we need is the system that will be future proof in terms of balance between individual and big entities even if their technological ability to identify you is near perfect.
But let's just use something more mundane:
Are you concerned that the government has a 'record of you' regarding your Driver's License?
Probably not.
We have drivers licenses, we have social security.
It's a very reasonable step to have some kind of 'good id'.
Yes, there'll have to be legislation around it for privacy.
It would be great if we didn't need ID to drive and didn't need SS but that's not the world we live in.
The fact that people tolerate necessary evil is not argument for more evil.
They are not 'necessary evils' in any minds but those of HN commenters.
They are just 'normal artifacts' in the minds most people.
People are generally not concerned with the existence of DLs and they are generally not some kind of 'threat'.
If you literally brought up 'privacy' issues to most Americans, maybe they would say something, but I'll be $100 that most Americans, on the subject of 'Drivers License' would never bring up the issue of 'privacy' unsolicited.
An SS card with literally a photo on it, the most minor of changes, could effectively serve as a really good 'ID'.