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> let's not forget what the NSA from the land of the "free" does

Nobody is forgetting it. But just as discussions about authoritarian nations’ tactics get derailed by these comments, discussions about the NSA get railroaded by “but at least it’s not China” messaging.

Fair point.

The risks of government abusing Internet is omnipresent, but this risk is out of control in countries where the constitutional courts are weak and lawmakers compliant. It shows that tech disruption is ultimately still less powerful than political disruption -- only that can fundamentally bring this civilization forward.

> but let's not forget what the NSA from the land of the "free" does

Collects tons of data and then does nothing with it?

They could also be finding valuable patterns in communication data and withholding it from other government agencies.

hah that reminds me of the demotivator "Government, if you hate our problems just wait until you see our solutions".