I don’t think so since the technological structure to support it was not always present.
Western societies have started to copy China because everthing else puts them at a competitive disadvantage.
there is a very helpful theoretical framework by Theodore Kaczynski, that of self-propagating systems, to better understand the evolution of societies:
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ted-kaczynski-why-th...
China State is increasingly powerful, but it also looks increasingly brittle and more likely to shatter under stress.
“The West” may have a less spectacular failure mode.
What are the signs that make you think that?
Give yourselves a round of applause, Silicon Valley et al.
https://about.fb.com/news/2020/10/removing-coordinated-inaut...
Technology has made it real easy
And it is really shameful that the EU seems to go along with this trend. GDPR basically gives free reign to government services on the internet (but it restricts everyone else). And it has avoided all discussion of the increased censorship because of the usual suspects (cchildren/terrorism)
This was anticipated and salivated over by the likes of Zbigniew K. Brzezinski.
https://www.amazon.com/Between-Two-Ages-Americas-Technetroni...
https://archive.org/details/B-001-003-798 (for the pdf)
I enjoyed my teen years through the 90s. Some people had 24hr TV news, but very few had the internet or newsgroups for news. At that time, I found it pretty easy to find and hold skeptical viewpoints.
The pace has changed since then. The detail comes much faster, and inflections change more rapidly.
It’s society, education, and exposure to alternative viewpoints that sows the seed of critical analysis. Technology just changes the rate it happens.
> about.fb.com
You do realize American corporations routinely cover up (or even actively participate in) U.S. and allies’ intelligence operations? You’re not going to get an objective, or should I say authentic, view on which governments are most enthusiastic about almost anything from fb.com.
Of course a US corporation isn't going to list the US as a source of propaganda or a surveillance state.
Wikileaks has shown the US has a huge surveillance apparatus. I suspect the fb.com poster is either a spook, or extremely naive.
People in the west are rightfully sensitive to such matters. They have no idea how far worse it is in other corners of the internet. Sophie zhang has published many such cases, but the audience just doesn't seem so interested (presumably because they can't use it for domestic politics).
a) We do have an idea
b) Why the fuck the fact that it is worse somewhere else would make me feel less concerned when my own Government does ugly things? I worry about my own backyard first.
And last. The US is a trade-based empire, it has to care about the rest of world
This is such a laughable statement that’s dripping in American corporatism. You know full well the GDPRs main purpose is privacy protection and the main “everyone else” that is being restricted is the data glutton American tech companies.
It never needed to because criminal law already does that. You had protection from illegal search or seizure long long before the internet even became a thing.
What do you mean though? Even the French interior ministry was condemned under GDPR rules last year. A few other high profile gouvernement services too.
Curiously we have seen very little discussion about what "is a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to safeguard"