this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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I live in the USA and when I leave my house I am being constantly tracked by at least five different private surveillance networks. There's hundreds (thousands?) of privately owned facial recognition and license plate scanners within 20 miles of my house. My neighbors even invite them into their homes and have constantly recording cameras facing the street. They are recording everything that goes on everywhere, reporting back to their corporate overlords, and selling that data to whomever can pay (including the US government).
I'd much rather have state surveillance because that's at least somewhat auditable, and the state is getting the data either way. When municipalities and citizens start paying for the privilege to feed them data is when I start to get really worried about what they're doing with it.
So don't fucking cry to me about constant surveillance in north korea. Our lives are constantly being quantified and logged right here in the country that touts itself as the bastion of freedom but continually wipes its ass with the bill of rights.
I'm not crying about it, but I'm noting it is there. I'm also noting that the issue of not toeing the party line may have more consequences for the average person compared to the US.
Why? I just explained how terrible surveillance is in the USA in response to you claiming the other poster was constantly being watched while they were in NK after they stated they didn't have anyone watching over their shoulders every minute. There was no reason to bring that up other than to inflame existing western opinions on the DPRK.
It doesnt matter what your political opinions are in the US. Everyone is regarded as if they are an enemy of the state and the rights they pretend to hold so dear are just a suggestion to the people in power. Why else would they have extended the laws they say are created to 'fight terrorism' to monitor all citizens at all times? We're living these consequences every day.
It came in the discussion between the person who went to North Korea and myself regarding their experience. I thought we had a respectful discussion about the experience.
You also talked past my comment about the impacts of the impacts of North Korean surveillance compared to American surveillance. Is the issue that North Korea can't afford an American like system or a Chinese like system?