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Comment by sillygeese | Hacker News Reader

> How can a government have jurisdiction over this?

Or more broadly, how can a government have jurisdiction over anything, or anyone? The answer is fundamentally: by force.

For example, if I point a gun at you, I've just established the same kind of "jurisdiction" over your wallet. Because otherwise you'd just refrain from giving it to me.

But isn't it great that a "privacy watchdog" is limiting the privacy invasions Facebook can inflict on us, while surveilling us themselves, and funding their operations with money that's forcefully taken from us? It's like, heart-warming!

(They've established "jurisdiction" over our incomes!)

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You talk like these organisations are one coherent whole having meetings to plot how to best exploit German citizens. It's entirely possible, and probably desirable, to have a government containing on group trying to protect citizen's privacy while another has reasons not to - where those roles overlap you should at least in theory have debate within government as to who takes precedence. In this non-ideal world that may not happen, but its better than not even making that possible.

Do you think that's a satisfactory situation though?

Suppose that there actually is a group within the government that's genuinely trying to protect us. Even so, the organization they'd be protecting us from is the exact same one they're part of. How does that make sense?

It's like there's a pack of wolves next to a herd of sheep, and one of the wolves is like: "Guys? Guyyys? Can we just not eat them please?"

In reality, governments are hell-bent on monitoring everything we do, because that's a great way to cement their power over us.

Dictators don't arrange elections, and the most productive slave is one who thinks he's free. That's a large part of why the whole world isn't under complete tyranny right now. Try protesting anything any government does though, and the response will be tear gas and batons. That shows exactly how many fucks they give about our well-being or wishes.

(Recent examples: Hong Kong, Brazil, Venezuela etc)

> and funding their operations with money that's forcefully taken from us?

Aren't this claims funny?

Irrespective of what the desired use of stolen property is, it is stolen.

What the heck is stolen?

Ad I said, your libertarian claims are very funny. Out of reality, but funny.

Dependant on where you live, 15-50% of the money one makes.

Still waiting to know what is stolen

Income. Money people make is being stolen by gunpoint. Irrespective of the proposed uses of the money is, stealing is stealing. I can put a gun to Bill Gate's head and demand 50% of his wealth and spend it only for 'good' things. But, doesn't mean I didn't steal.

Not really. We all know what happens if we don't pay taxes. Very few see taxation for the extortion it is.

Perhaps few see it as extortion because it is not extortion.

Perhaps you're a troll, or just retarded.

Then it is clear that the insulting troll is you, not me.

It is not my fault hat almost all the people doesn't agree with your libertarian fantasies.

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