Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

CNN Talks WIth ACLU Tech Maven Barry Steinhardt

Posted by timothy on from the watch-that-mandatory-stuff-now dept.

muon1183 writes " CNN interviews Barry Steinhardt, the ACLU's cyberchief and former staff laywer for the EFF. Steinhardt speaks on his concerns about current and upcoming legislation and its impacts on your civil liberties. It's good that this is finally making the mainstream media."

1 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Serious Question by AndyS · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We had a really unpleasant rail disaster in the UK a while ago. One of the survivors, who was horrifically burned, made a point of harassing the government over safety measures and so on.

    Fast forward a little way and a leaked memo appeared, asking party machinery (just the Labour party here) to get details on her, and see if she was working with the opposition in order to discredit her.

    This is the nub of it, a lot of people have stuff to hide. It might not even be anythign that is a crime, but purely something that you are ashamed of, or might affect how other people see you (which, in this day and age, can be pretty much anything). It basically is a useful tool to settle personal scores, and to stop people from exercising their rights to loudly question their political masters.

    Now, I'm not saying this WILL occur, but it certainly can. They can neuter your ability to effectively say anything about the government.

    And that's not even going all the way.