Governments usually argue: “if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide…”
Actually we might not be doing anything wrong now, but perhaps in five years time the law could change.
For example, now we can go and protest on the street, like with the Occupy movement, and that is not illegal; however in times of social unrest that might be deemed to be illegal.
If the political and legal environments shift, by storing all this information about people, they could go back to these records and use them against you. They could identify and profile you, trying to spot potential problem people.
That’s why I think that the bulk collection of data is a source of societal control.
Annie Machon lavorava per il MI5, l'agenzia per la sicurezza e il controspionaggio del Regno Unito. Negli anni 90 è diventata una whistleblower, denunciando crimini commessi dalla sua agenzia, tra cui intercettazioni illegali tenute nascoste al governo stesso. Oggi ha creato la Courage Foundation to Protect Journalistic Sources. Primo beneficiario: Edward Snowden.
L'intervista di Carola Frediani a Annie Machon è su Techpresident.
