[gklitz]

Any politician pirring forth this stupid statement needs to be asked if they are willing to submit to having their lives filmed 24/7 with no censorship of anything.

They won’t even let us see their “private” messages to other politicians let alone let us see them neglect their families.

[ben_w]

> If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear.

Almost all politicians have something to hide, as part of their job. Even fairly low-level politicians get messages from voters which can contain sensitive (i.e. should not be shared) information.

The problems are:

1) those who don't recognise that almost everyone else has this going on, too.

2) those who think that it's OK because the intelligence agencies are the ones gathering it (never mind that the methods enable others to do likewise), and those working in the agencies are above reproach and won't misuse that data (which we know isn't the case).

[JumpCrisscross]

> Any politician pirring forth this stupid statement

Genuine question: who was the last one in America who did? (Article’s “some politicians” link is broken for me.)

Asking because it strikes me as a straw man we, who believe in privacy as a right, enjoying arguing against.

[talldayo]

Does Ashton Kutcher ring a bell? https://fortune.com/europe/2023/09/26/thorn-ashton-kutcher-y...

[JumpCrisscross]

Fair enough. Kutcher is an elevated idiot with an agenda, and I didn’t specify politician.

Is there any evidence of an elected, in America or Europe, using this argument?

[trod123]

This won't work, and they know it so they'll just lie and say yes knowing it can't ever happen. They also have influence and control over this information through the nature of their positions. Look at the recordings that went missing during Watergate.

The reality is those in power must deal with additional threats both foreign and domestic.

Any one of them would say yes, but then claim it would open the country to greater threats if controlled independently (which it does given the sensitivity of the access they have to make decisions), and the mere suggestion continuing this would be unpatriotic since the person suggesting this is opening up the nation to even greater danger. It is not unreasonable.

The Nazi's were clever, and evil, for those who haven't heard this paraphrase, it follows what was said during the Nuremberg trials by Goebbels.

Many people alive today have learned from them. Whether it is to prevent it from happening again (by warning people to action of the subtle indicators), or to follow in their footsteps (to quietly seize power as a demagogue).

Who can know the mind and character of another who only has to lie to get in office then can't be removed for failing to perform. Especially in times where there is little if any credibility or trust left.

[euroderf]

The Truman Show, for the President of the United States, with audio off and faces blurred.