←back to thread

Is 4chan the perfect Pirate Bay poster child to justify wider UK site-blocking?

(torrentfreak.com)
361 points gloxkiqcza | 3 comments | 24 Aug 25 16:30 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
Show context
torginus ◴[25 Aug 25 08:26 UTC] No.45011561[source]▶
I genuinely do not understand where how the idea of building a total surveillance police state, where all speech is monitored, can even as much as seriously be considered by an allegedly pro-democracy, pro-human rights government, much less make it into law.

Also:

Step 1: Build mass surveillance to prevent the 'bad guys' from coming into political power (its ok, we're the good guys).

Step 2: Your political opponents capitalize on your genuinely horrific overreach, and legitimize themselves in the eyes of the public as fighting against tyranny (unfortunately for you they do have a point). They promise to dismantle the system if coming to power.

Step 3: They get elected.

Step 4: They don't dismantle the system, now the people you planned to use the system against are using it against you.

Sounds brilliant, lets do this.

replies(17): >>45011763 #>>45011799 #>>45011932 #>>45012205 #>>45012358 #>>45012512 #>>45012976 #>>45013249 #>>45013303 #>>45013857 #>>45014035 #>>45014477 #>>45014527 #>>45014559 #>>45016358 #>>45020627 #>>45021408 #
shazbotter ◴[25 Aug 25 13:53 UTC] No.45013857[source]▶
Simple. The UK is not a pro democracy, pro human rights state.

It might be uncomfortable to admit this, but if your government is a police state that's pretty much mutually exclusive with being a pro human rights state.

replies(3): >>45013945 #>>45014086 #>>45015598 #
femiagbabiaka ◴[25 Aug 25 16:26 UTC] No.45015598[source]▶
Yeah this applies to nearly all of Europe IMO. Recent events show that the American Bill of Rights is definitely not a panacea, but at least there's some legal standing to push back against Orwellian measure like those put in place by the UK or the EU.
replies(2): >>45015869 #>>45016658 #
1. fogx ◴[25 Aug 25 16:49 UTC] No.45015869[source]▶
yea right. Privacy is a fundamental right in the EU (GDPR, Charter of Fundamental Rights), while the U.S. legal system offers almost no general privacy protection. On top of that, the NSA has a long history of warrantless surveillance and backdoors (Snowden, PRISM), with very limited oversight. In practice, it’s far costlier to push mass privacy infringements in Europe than in the U.S.
replies(2): >>45016613 #>>45025118 #
2. rdm_blackhole ◴[25 Aug 25 17:49 UTC] No.45016613[source]▶
> Privacy is a fundamental right in the EU (GDPR, Charter of Fundamental Rights)

A fundamental right that is being challenged every 6 month or so for the last 3 years with the push for Chat Control.

> In practice, it’s far costlier to push mass privacy infringements in Europe than in the U.S.

Absolutely false. With the way the EU commissions work, all you need is to buy or lobby your way in single one place and then you can push for any agenda that you want.

3. AdrianB1 ◴[26 Aug 25 11:35 UTC] No.45025118[source]▶
Privacy does not exist in reality but in a very limited form. For example you can be stopped and identified on the street by a policemen in most EU countries with no reason, where is your privacy then?

Also EU has a lot of rights on paper that don't exist in reality. Free speech? Come in my country, you can go to jail for speech, there are several ways, way too many. Rights to property? Good joke. What rights do we really have in EU? I don't know any.