Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on November 10, 1999 at 06:14:24 {AAJB0ph6mYMRXA6xmpscslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: *Lessons from the Stasi posted by Kent on November 10, 1999 at 02:11:22:
Hi Kent, Rick,
Interesting topic. But the INTERNET probably by far will be the greatest invasion of privacy yet since it records not just your activity on-line but your THOUGHTS! And your activities on the internet can be monitored and a new psychological profile of who you are come into place like never before. And it is done electronically and silently. That is one reason why using various screen names and not keeping everything you do on the internet under one E-mail address, etc. sort of short-changes the casual lurkers from learning who you are and what you think by your preferences on the internet.
And apparently persons are able to even go into your webpages and copy things on your computer when you're online. So besides just the government wanting to do this, the voyeuristic hacker can do this too. So now the individual can become the "Big Brother". There was a program long ago about this on the episode of "The Twilight Zone" which I'm sure all of us old enough have seen 100 times. Where there was some hidden camera in every room and people got addicted to looking into people's private lives and learning everybody's secrets.
Another danger, of course, is the number of young persons on the internet who upload and discuss their private lives, their families, etc. Certainly the internet is an ideal tool now for spy agencies who can pry into a persons private life, observe their preferences and eavesdrop on their E-mail conversations.
Reasonable counter-measures can be taken I suppose, like not discussing anything too personal over the net, but essentially the internet is the biggest excuse for invasion of privacy there is in the modern world.
But that is a good thing too. After all, secret cults like the WTS who control the environment of their members by keeping them busy with 4 new magazines per week, a 10-hour a week field service schedule and 5 meetings per week with little time for anything else, have created a de-facto private and insulated organization. But the internet changes all that since it is in every home and readily available and all the SECRETS they would never tell their members are instantly provided by XJW webpages. This apparently has been so devastating, they are now running from the internet and trying to fight back by yet another webpage.
So I think, for some, the internet takes the Stasi-syndrome to all new heights.
Thanks for the info, Rick, Kent.
Cheers,
Bibleman