Tough week for euros. Cars that record your face while driving and now apps snooping on communications.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/07/two-teens-learn-the-har...
The trajectory is crystal clear: access to information (AI), control over personal finance (CBDC), privacy of personal communications (handful of big tech MITM in everything), metered social interactions (today China, tomorrow the world over).
It doesn't even need guns; Nepalese youth managed to stop social media censorship there just by going to the political capital and threatening to beat the MPs to death.
Article 35 Citizens of the People’s Republic of China shall enjoy freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, procession and demonstration.
Seems to me like that Second Amendment thing could be very effective with a sufficiently motivated population.
Exhibit A says: Bullshit.
[A] https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/us-capitol-attack-rioters...
I disagree with the simplistic model you are presenting, as if "patriots" would themselves deal with the matter of (global) governance in our age in a non coercive, "just" or "fair" manner, and not tyranny, whereas the historic record is that all such revolutionary attempts to removal of (perceived) tyranny prove themselves to be even greater tyrants.
Issue is systemic to the human species and our current state of development. Symbolically, we have achieved an excess of technical prowess while our mental and psychological (and here we can fold in spiritualism if you wish) remains underdeveloped. And there is also the (unpleasant but real) fact that various 'noble' human characteristics are not uniformly distributed among our species, regardless of gender, culture, or ethnicity. Humanity is very 'lumpy'. And the fact that some among us are lagging in certain aspects is unplatable but factual.
Many of these control systems being devised by the guvners are in fact addressing this reality. These things are not emerging from a dark pit where malignant humans are plotting against the rest of humanity. Contrary. Many are mind products of some of the best educated and well meaning who are trying to address the realities of our common coexistence on this planet.
In an ideal worlds, there would be no locks, no cops, no jails, no hunger, no oppession.
We do not live in that world.
Beyond our human condition (but certainly driven by it) is technology, which also has its own inherent developmental tendencies.
In my personal view, a mature and balanced approach here would be the insistence that the humans who are entrusted with the operation of these emerging systems of social control and management are the best of us.
Right now, given the pure profit incentive that selects a specific subtype of 'smart and capable' to leading positions, we are facing a hazard. (See Zuck as posterboy of the problem).
The coming revolution will be well deserved I think.
At this point the EU has to prove that they are not doing things like that rather than getting the benefit of the doubt.
I think you are confusing what a private citizen is. Focus on the word 'private'. Ursula should know NOTHING about me. I should know everything about Ursula, she lives on MY dime.
The worst thing I have to hide is knowledge about my intentions, none of which are bad/illegal/immoral.
Scan away, I'd rather try to protect my children, other children from unscrupulous characters.
Correction: None of which are bad/illegal/immoral _right now_. The "I have nothing to hide" crowd will surely change their tune the moment any of their data starts to be used against them.
The government can have completely arbitrary motivations and enact laws that punish people for the sake of punishment or just outright dismantle democracy by making it illegal to criticize politicians, something that is already happening in Germany.
Communication wasn't digitally indexed and recorded forever, historically, and something intimate I whisper to a lover or very close friends doesn't ever need to see the light of day.
The guise that there's a predator out there, trying to cocerce 13 year old children to have sex with them is a good cover by the government to gain this control, because how do we refuse that? Won't somebody think of the children? So we have to acknowledge that yes, there are bad people out there, and no, I don't support Prince Andrew or the Epstein class, but at the same time, in the history of government and abuses of power, Chat control is going to be used against you and I, and not the Epstein class.