When thinking about such unprecedented powers, I prefer to consider the worst-case scenario of the laws as written, rather than what seems currently acceptable.
Because even if the current government is harmless, the next regime might not be, and these powers are basically the equivalent of a nuclear bomb with respect to privacy. They move the pendulum far away from what many would consider reasonable for a free society.
These laws just seem so rife with loopholes and ambiguities that even as an honest law-abiding citizen with nothing of interest to hide, I find them honestly terrifying.
If they're doing these things for legitimate reasons then there would be little reason to be against having reasonable limits to scope, reasonable oversight, accountability, as well as real reporting on the actual number of citizens whose data has been accessed.
The fact these concerns and all the consultation submissions from experts in both legal and technology issues have been ignored makes me strongly fear the whole law has not taken citizens right to privacy into account at all, and that is a terrifying proposition.
In what way does downplaying the possible consequences help tactically?
I'm hoping that if more people realize the implications of this horrible law, there's more chance of the lobotomized public actually exerting some pressure on our supposed representatives to actually represent us.
It's unlikely given the media has been painfully silent on the horrible implications of this terrible law.
Because even if the current government is harmless, the next regime might not be, and these powers are basically the equivalent of a nuclear bomb with respect to privacy. They move the pendulum far away from what many would consider reasonable for a free society.
These laws just seem so rife with loopholes and ambiguities that even as an honest law-abiding citizen with nothing of interest to hide, I find them honestly terrifying.
If they're doing these things for legitimate reasons then there would be little reason to be against having reasonable limits to scope, reasonable oversight, accountability, as well as real reporting on the actual number of citizens whose data has been accessed.
The fact these concerns and all the consultation submissions from experts in both legal and technology issues have been ignored makes me strongly fear the whole law has not taken citizens right to privacy into account at all, and that is a terrifying proposition.