Game for privacy is gone, mass surveillance is here to stay – Assange on #RT10 panel

Humanity has lost its battle for privacy and must now learn to live in a world where mass surveillance is becoming cheaper for governments to implement, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said during a panel dedicated to RT’s 10th anniversary.

Assange addressed the panel on security and surveillance hosted by RT in central Moscow on Thursday via video conference from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has remained holed up for the last three years in order to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Game for privacy is gone, mass surveillance is here to stay – Assange on #RT10 panel

Here is the full video of the panel discussion


So it seems the Whistle blowers have yet another depressing revelation about our privacy.

“In thinking about this issue I want to take quite a different position, perhaps, from what you would expect me to have taken… I think that we should understand that the game for privacy is gone. It’s gone. The mass surveillance is here to stay,” he said.

Mass surveillance is already being implemented not only by major world powers, but also by some medium and small-sized countries, he added.

It's funny that when on my work this morning, I was just thinking about how many people have been complaining about how the new Windows 10 Operating System less security in terms of user privacy.

Since bumping in to this news from yesterday, this kind of really made me think if this is the world we are heading towards. What will become of our privacy?

Does ATS think, what Assange has said about "Privacy being gone" is true about our current state of affairs?

I truly think it's been gone since the invention of the internet and cell phones, we just in recent years have realized the true depth.

This is a tough topic, on the one hand, Surveillance will only lead to a greater number of people rebelling against the government for their privacy, which they rightly deserve. On the other hand however, without surveillance, external factors such as crime rates are likely to rapidly increase.

It's fair to say that we are facing an invasion against our privacy, but do the higher ranking order care? I very highly doubt it.

originally posted by: Imrann
This is a tough topic, on the one hand, Surveillance will only lead to a greater number of people rebelling against the government for their privacy, which they rightly deserve. On the other hand however, without surveillance, external factors such as crime rates are likely to rapidly increase.

It's fair to say that we are facing an invasion against our privacy, but do the higher ranking order care? I very highly doubt it.

The idea of governments having access to our privacy means they have the upper hand and things like rebellion against them will basically mean death if there is any chance at gaining back our privacy then.

And to think that politicians are controlled by wealthy Elitists, is basically a path for enslavement for mankind. There must be a way out of what seems to be a nightmarish future.

originally posted by: InnerPeace2012
There must be a way out of what seems to be a nightmarish future.

I tried MarsOne, wasn't picked FFFF me!

a reply to: InnerPeace2012

ty for posting. S&F.

a reply to: InnerPeace2012

It's seems like an inevitable future for society, even technology such as an IPad which often requires location services will track your every online move and location, even when being turned off! I don't see why they give people the option, because they track you regardless!

Surveillance has its benefits, but I think too much will generate problems for the future

You only have to see some of the court cases that have appeared recently. Apple put video cameras into their laptops and air-books so that users could video conference. Then Apple introduced a special feature where pictures could be taken every now and again in order to allow the tracing of stolen belongings. That was a big attraction to bulk purchasers including school boards who bought this technology by the container-load. Everything was set up and the air-books handed out to students. Then teachers and supervisors "discovered" the directory containing the security images from the webcams. Parents and students only found out after a student was disciplined based on a picture taken from his laptop when he was in his bedroom.

en.wikipedia.org...

That really is rich.

So now Assange, and Snowden are both in Russia's pocket talking about 'spying'.

When Russia is a bigger spy than we are.

Well, as the man says, the cost just gets cheaper, besides that the digital package guarantees the lack of privacy, as well as the lack of your digital safety, both of which can be from any source.
Anyone who takes part in the system thinking differently is a mug.
Any checks or balances about surveillance through law is a waste of time.
Listen to Ray McGovern, he's the man. Funny enough, I posted a prophetic John Pilger documentary from early 2ooo's last night on another post here, and McGovern was one of the main contributors in that video.
Thing is many people are not listening, indeed defending, what's really happening in the belief that nothing bad will happen to them because the mass surveillance is protecting them, when the truth is there is nothing, absolutely nothing to protect them et al. Besides that the measures that would need/will to be put in place just to make such a system work, (as in we know what you are doing once you walk out the door, for instance) could give you a very bad day in a very Orwellian manner.

a reply to: neo96
Not exactly true.

The US has the resources for all kinds of fancy surveillance tools that Russia simply can not afford implement on a mass scale.

originally posted by: Imrann
a reply to: InnerPeace2012

Surveillance has its benefits, but I think too much will generate problems for the future

I just think the problems will outweigh the benefits, 99% loose their privacy while 1% will be running the show.

You right though, we can go so much in loosing our privacy, until people start rebelling against the idea.

Right now we have a mess in the middle-east and if anything good has to come of this, I hope we somehow turn this around and go all sustainable and need not limit ourselves to any form pyramid power structure society.

"Three programs, SORM-1, SORM-2, and SORM-3, provide the foundation of Russian mass communications surveillance. Russian law gives Russia's security service, the FSB, the authority to use SORM ('System for Operative Investigative Activities') to collect, analyze and store all data that [are] transmitted or received on Russian networks, including calls, email, website visits and credit card transactions. ...

Russian law requires all Internet service providers to install an FSB monitoring device (called 'Punkt Upravlenia') on their networks that allows the direct collection of traffic without the knowledge or cooperation of the service provider. ...

SORM is routinely used against political opponents and human rights activists to monitor them and to collect information to use against them in 'dirty tricks' campaigns. Russian courts have upheld the FSB's authority to surveil political opponents even if they have committed no crime. ..."

www.npr.org...

It came as a shock to many observers when VimpelCom, one of Russia's largest telecommunications companies, publicly criticized the government's plans to legalize the interception of telephone and e-mail communications. VimpelCom sent a letter to the Communications and Press Ministry criticizing the plan as unconstitutional.

www.themoscowtimes.com...

Oh what a wicked web we weave when they practice to deceive.

originally posted by: neo96
That really is rich.

So now Assange, and Snowden are both in Russia's pocket talking about 'spying'.

When Russia is a bigger spy than we are.

Don't worry about who's the biggest spy here, it's one's privacy that one must consider here.

If anything the whistle blowers are just telling as what we already know might be happening here. They are just clearing the mist and making us realize that what we've pondering is in fact is what is happening behind the scenes.

a reply to: InnerPeace2012

Yeah and it goes to credibility.

With neither Russia,Assange have.

Peace

There must be a way out of what seems to be a nightmarish future.

In 1963, in my mid teens, I read an article written about a study by a think tank. Back then think tanks were not as common as today and this one was a university think tank that was put together of scientists, sociologists, psychologists etc. Their task was to formulate the state of the US by 2000. The possible futures at that time were laid out on a graph, with a Utopian future on one end and on the other a totalitarian fascist state.

It then described in relation to a number of social categories, the state of the union as it was at the time.
It then pointed out what would we, as a nation need to do in order to have the Utopian future and what we would have to do to end up the totalitarian state. In order to become a Utopian future, we needed to make drastic changes at that time. Changes that would alter the course of human endeavors across the board. Immediately. In 1963

If we wanted the totalitarian fascist state, all we needed to do was to just let things continue as they had been. Business as usual.

And guess which way we went.............

originally posted by: neo96
That really is rich.

So now Assange, and Snowden are both in Russia's pocket talking about 'spying'.

When Russia is a bigger spy than we are.

That's a load of crapola and you know it. So what what about McGovern and the rest present?
Those are people who knew just about all years ago..feck it, don't bother answering, it'll only interfere with some decent responses.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Now that is worrying bit of information, but being an optimist we can turn this around, that is why we have friction in the geo-politics as there seems to be a need for countries to secure resources.

Since with the current understanding of Countries in Debt, this may be the driving force behind the turmoil in the middle-east and perhaps the South China Sea, and therefore in order to counter the debt issue either countries need to secure resources and in the process create wars to overthrow current global marketing systems off.

I know, I talk too much but this is all starting to make sense of why the world is heading the direction it is. But can we have a Utopian society with our privacy intact, at the back of a major collapse of society.

I guess this is why Cameron has been making efforts to make encryption tech illegal.For ever government hired computer wiz there will always be ten fold of that in the general population.This rhetoric will inevitable drive the population towards vpn's and tor.

originally posted by: stormcell
You only have to see some of the court cases that have appeared recently. Apple put video cameras into their laptops and air-books so that users could video conference. Then Apple introduced a special feature where pictures could be taken every now and again in order to allow the tracing of stolen belongings. That was a big attraction to bulk purchasers including school boards who bought this technology by the container-load. Everything was set up and the air-books handed out to students. Then teachers and supervisors "discovered" the directory containing the security images from the webcams. Parents and students only found out after a student was disciplined based on a picture taken from his laptop when he was in his bedroom.

en.wikipedia.org...

Look at what Samsung were forced to disclose recently about their smart TV's.They are constantly recording what is being said by the owners and some of the information goes to a third party.Only they wouldn't disclose who that third party is.