[ExI] The NSA's new data center

[Stefano Vaj]

On 27 March 2012 11:57, Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org> wrote:

> This is why we need rigid laws protecting privacy. Technology
> cannot route around broken politics.
>

The problem is that privacy is a doctrine at war with itself.

Take for instance the EU regulations in this respect.

While the States obviously maintain in full their factual and even legal
power to spy on you and process your personal data, provided at best that
some procedural steps are complied with and that no private-interest use is
made of such data (and even that really pertains only to using the
information for evidentiary purposes), *the enforcement of privacy rules
would basically mean that the State has one more additional reason and
legal right (heck, a legal *obligation*) to put its nose in your PC or
network* in order to check what you are doing with them (you could be
engaging in illegal personal data processing or surveillance, couldn't
you?).

Now, I do maintain that attempts at their enforcement are anyway becoming
increasingly futile, owing to technological progress.

But in the meantime, the regulations in place are pretty useful to limit
transparency, blackmail people, indict whistle-blowers, try and control the
circulation of information, etc.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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