Greenwald Advises Market-Based Solution To Mass Surveillance

Nicola Hahn writes In his latest Intercept piece Glenn Greenwald considers the recent defeat of the Senate's USA Freedom Act. He remarks that governments "don't walk around trying to figure out how to limit their own power." Instead of appealing to an allegedly irrelevant Congress Greenwald advocates utilizing the power of consumer demand to address the failings of cyber security. Specifically he argues that companies care about their bottom line and that the trend of customers refusing to tolerate insecure products will force companies to protect user privacy, implement encryption, etc. All told Greenwald's argument is very telling: that society can rely on corporate interests for protection. Is it true that representative government is a lost cause and that lawmakers would never knowingly yield authority? There are people who think that advising citizens to devolve into consumers is a dubious proposition.

Comments

"very telling" indeed

[globaljustin]

Just asking this question (in a serious context) is foolish and ruining America:

Greenwald's argument is very telling: that society can rely on corporate interests for protection. Is it true that representative government is a lost cause and that lawmakers would never knowingly yield authority?

The enemies of freedom want us to be asking fsking moronic questions like this!

**of course 'representative government' isn't a lost cause**

The fact that we are even putting this on /. is the thing that is actually "very telling"...it shows people have forgotten the basics of being a free individual

Re:"very telling" indeed

[Aighearach]

I'm not at all surprised. Remember, the first thing Greenwald released from the Snowden stuff was the powerpoint slides that misrepresented the programs (because it was prepared by a contractor who wasn't actually using the stuff they were training!) He leaked out something like 8 months of lies and misrepresentations before the real programs got leaked, and by then most people had stopped paying attention to the details.

I always assume he's the NSA damage-control guy.

One step at a time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Coincidentally, I have stopped using a mobile phone. This is much to the disgust of people around me, apparently it is their right to be able to contact me at any time these days. Failure to give a near instantaneous response causes anger! I have now realised that I was a slave to technology. I'm not willingly going to give any company my money any more. Consumerist propaganda can fuck itself. I am down to spending less than 20% of my income on core expenses (rent/food). Now the power of compounding interest is on my side.

Fight neo-feudalism. The corporation and government are not my lords. I am free, not a slave. I owe them NOTHING.

Re:One step at a time.

[Tom]

Coincidentally, I have stopped using a mobile phone. This is much to the disgust of people around me, apparently it is their right to be able to contact me at any time these days.

You don't have to ditch your phone to do that. You can simply realize that answering it is still a choice.

You can let a call go to voicemail. You can leave a text message sitting there, waiting for answer until it's convenient for you to answer it. It's possible, you know?

I love my iPhone because it puts things into my pocket that are useful to me. Maps, reminders, calendar, notes, and occasionally writing a mail or checking something on the Internet. I very rarely answer mails on my phone, for example.

Re:customers refusing to tolerate insecure product

[JaredOfEuropa]

The success of Google and Facebook, as well as the enthusiasm of some for surveillance ("hey, I've got nothing to hide") show us that people don't give a toss about privacy. We care a little bit for security where our credit cards and naked selfies are concerned, and there may be a smallish market for secure, encrypted products and services, but that's doesn't mean corporate interests are aligned with our own when it comes to security. Quite the contrary, in a market where the prevailing business model is to hook as many eyeballs as possible with free stuff, and make money by selling their data.

Telling us to rely on corporations to shield us from an invasive government is like the fox convincing the chicken that it can rely on the wolf for protection. One way or another, you're going to get eaten.