I think most people feel powerless, either financially or technically.
Many people I know think what the NSA is doing is completely wrong, but they have problems logging into facebook and getting their email to work, they just feel powerless because they don't understand the technology behind the world they live in.
How can they stand up to something they can't even begin to comprehend?
The NSA could literally do anything they wanted to most people and they wouldn't even know about it.
And then we have a much smaller group of people in the tech industry (most people who frequent Hacker News), who know what the NSA is doing is horribly horribly wrong, but are afraid of being destroyed financially, socially, and professionally for standing up to them.
It feels like swimming up a waterfall. The NSA can so easily ruin lives by planting illegal material on your computer, then tip off the local cops who get a search warrant, then they seize your computer and find the illegal material on your computer.
And you life is ruined.
I mean, they are so powerful technologically speaking, they can ruin lives without so much as lifting a finger.
For many people, law enforcement doesn't even have to bother planting illegal material. They only have to twist the description of a target's behavior until it fits the requirements for violating a law (e.g. CFAA[1]), or catch the target committing any of the other federal crimes[2] he/she unknowingly commits on a regular basis.
1. Couldn't a random hacker do that? Or a hacker affiliated with a private institution (e.g. News of the World)?
2. There's this terrible virus going around that locks you out of your PC or server meaning you lose all your data unless you pay the ransom of $500 in bitcoins. With this new trend in un-regulated crypto-currency, this scam cannot be stopped through the traditional means - financial/bank account freezes. Does this give any privacy proponents pause for thought? Also there's the old hack your webcam and blackmail you which has led people to commit suicide. Again, malicious hackers, not a gov't conspiracy There's actually a reason we've given power to police/enforcers in every aspect of life: because criminals are ruthless and prey on the innocent and gullible - physically, financially, and of course, now cyber-ly.
3. You've actually started to glean the important point in how we deal with cyber evidence as a society. Nobody's life has ever been ruined by getting put into an internal watch-list. But when list become enforceable (like the No-Fly list, or the McCarthy-era communist list) then lives are ruined. This is similar to your point about planting evidence: when the local police and prosecutor get brought into it, lives are at stake. I again wonder though why a spy agency would need to hack evidence onto your computer when they could simply plant in your house; that has happend thousands of times by dirty street cops, while your example - being carried out by a gov't agency - has never been reported to happen even once.
The Snowden documents revealed that Germans visiting the Tor project website would be subject to permanent NSA surveillance. Does that make you more or less likely to click the link below? If the answer is "less likely", how does it feel to be intimidated out of your free expression?
First they came for the Whistleblowers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Whistleblower.
Then they came for the Boing Boing Readers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Boing Boing Reader.
Then they came for the Linux Users, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Linux User.
Then they came for people who mocked the NSA, and I did not speak out— Because I was not mocking the NSA.
Then they came for the Jews (they always eventually come for the Jews even when Jews think they are mainstream), and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak for me.
I would like to suggest that voting provides a way out. If the NSA had a smaller budget, things might be better. If every branch of our military had a smaller budget, things might be better. Congressmen do listen to us, and if collectively we spoke against the military, there might be success.
Honestly I have no idea how to fight politically. I think we all feel powerless. But there are some things you can do. You can run a tor relay node. You can learn about these technologies and help development efforts. You can participate with Freenode and I2P. You can encrypt all of your connections end-to-end and avoid services that are known to cooperate with 3 letter agencies.
But no matter what angle you pick, you're going to be fighting up hill. It's going to suck, and you aren't going to feel like you're making any progress on your own. But if enough of us rally behind the technologies that protect our rights as human beings, then maybe we can reverse the tide.
I would tend to agree, but voting is just the first rung of what you might think of as a ladder of commitment:
Voting
Organizing others
Donating money to fund full-time campaigners
Volunteering for leadership positions/running for office
Each step on the ladder requires more commitment, and will therefore be taken by fewer people. But to succeed, a movement needs all of them.
If you vote, and nothing changes, and you're asking what comes next, maybe you're ready to move to the next rung. Start a meetup in your community. Give to the EFF or the ACLU. Run for office yourself, or identify a good person who should be running and help them do so.
The second to last line betrays a misunderstanding of the current order of things. (Unless the writer thinks it is the Muslims or the KKK that are coming for us.) Jews in general are no longer the victims.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me
I should not need to remind this crowd but if anyone feels doubt over what can and must be done, simply search YouTube for "Eben Moglen"; you can't go wrong.
Many people I know think what the NSA is doing is completely wrong, but they have problems logging into facebook and getting their email to work, they just feel powerless because they don't understand the technology behind the world they live in.
How can they stand up to something they can't even begin to comprehend?
The NSA could literally do anything they wanted to most people and they wouldn't even know about it.
And then we have a much smaller group of people in the tech industry (most people who frequent Hacker News), who know what the NSA is doing is horribly horribly wrong, but are afraid of being destroyed financially, socially, and professionally for standing up to them.
It feels like swimming up a waterfall. The NSA can so easily ruin lives by planting illegal material on your computer, then tip off the local cops who get a search warrant, then they seize your computer and find the illegal material on your computer.
And you life is ruined.
I mean, they are so powerful technologically speaking, they can ruin lives without so much as lifting a finger.
It's very scary and very real.