There are many dimensions to the concept of privacy.
A fundamental question is: Who owns you and your life?
If you are not the owner of your person – that will open up for abominations like slavery, organ farming, and some absurd utilitarian concepts.
But if you are the owner of your person – this must include your body as well as your mind and your faculties.
So… if you are the owner of your person – does anybody else (a private person or a collective of persons) have the right to look into your mind, your thoughts and your beliefs? Does anybody else have the right to look into your relations to other people, your quest for knowledge or your personal habits and preferences?
Because that is exactly what is done when government snoops around in your communications, among your files and in your social networks.
The only reason I can find for allowing this is if a person is threatening other peoples’ security or property.
A person who is no threat to others should be left alone. And this is actually what is said e.g. in the European convention on human rights. People have the right to privacy and private correspondence unless they are a threat to others or to society. (Obviously, it might be debated what constitutes a threat to society. But you get the general rule.)
However, governments do not care. They want mass surveillance. They want to collect as much information as possible about as much people as possible.
The ruling political class simply does not treat us as free citizens but as serfs.
You should keep that in mind next time there is a general election.
/ HAX
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