Twenty-five years ago this weekend, the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain came down. This also lead to the end of the East German state, DDR.
The DDR was a communist dictatorship, an authoritarian state that did not hesitate to imprison or kill dissidents and those trying to flee. The very symbol of this brutal state was the secret police, the Stasi.
Stasi was known for a widespread system of informants, extensive record-keeping and surveillance. Its’ very existence lead to a silent society. Knowing that everything you said could be recorded and turned against you, people held their opinions private.
Several times I saw this system too close for comfort. And it filled me with rage. So I did what little I could to help the peoples of Eastern Europe in their struggle for freedom.
Fast forward to today…
With NSA mass surveillance, data retention and projects like Indect we are building something that goes far beyond what the DDR leadership could ever imagine: A toolbox for almost total surveillance.
While the DDR could wiretap only a small number of telephones at a time, modern mass surveillance grabs data about all our electronic communications. All the time.
While the DDR kept their huge registers in manual filing systems–our authorities can get most information about us on screen with a few simple commands. And they can just as easily cross reference information about us from an ever growing number of databases.
While the DDR was depending on informants and secret agents–the EU is funding projects like Indect. Tracking camera surveillance, drone monitoring, automated face recognition, automated behavioural analysis, supervision of our web-habits, searching databases… you name it. All in one package, sent to one screen, instantly.
Et cetera, et cetera… It might be that our government is elected by the people, that it has no sinister intentions and that it truly respects our human and civil rights. (OK, I’m stretching it.) But that will not last for ever.
And even if it does, the very awareness of total surveillance will lead to a silent society. Knowing that everything you say is being recorded and can be used against you, people will tend to hold their opinions private. Back to the mindset of the DDR.
This is cause for serious concern.
Then, we have the thing that really pisses me off: The good guys turning bad.
I didn’t spend some twenty years of my youth to fight Big Brotherism in the east–just to find our western democracies of today going down that very same road.
We shouldn’t go there. Because we respect the individual, her dignity and her fundamental rights. Because we know better. Because we have seen where that road will lead.
I have seen Big Brother up close. And I hate him. It’s personal.
Frankly, that might be what really makes me keep on fighting.
/ HAX
Self-censorship already is a serious problem. It is a vicious circle, too. The more people fear that they are under surveillance, the less comfortable they are sharing criticism lodged at the powers that be. Being able to criticize and otherwise peacefully oppose government is a fundamental requirement for a healthy democracy. Political opposition is a critical tool for controlling government and keeping it in check. Where political opposition is silenced this check starts falling away. Without a people voicing its disagreement over political decisions, it becomes easier to adopt oppressive laws, which propagate the cycle.