The usual pro-surveillance argument is that honest people have nothing to hide. It’s a valid argument, but an incomplete one. Honesty and criminality have never been black and white. They depend on laws and opinions – both of which change – so there is always a grey area. For example, abortion. In many parts of the world the law has changed to allow abortion, and just prior to the law change it was illegal yet went unpunished. It was a grey area. At that time, would it have been OK for government agencies to spy on those who visited abortion clinics, because abortions were technically illegal?
Here are some of the many grey areas in which the “honest people have nothing to hide” is not a very compelling argument, areas where government spying could be legal or wrong, depending on who you ask:
- Gatherings of people
- Purchasing of “prepper” supplies
- Reading grey area information out of curiosity or for research
- Pornography
- Political movements
- Copyright
- Pseudo religions (like Scientology)
- Belonging to groups associated with crime (motorcycle gangs, Mafia) without being accused of a crime
- Believing in UFOs
- Consensual cannibalism
- Suicide
- Medical marijuana
- Grey imports
- White supremacy
- Prostitution
- Anti-immunization
Leave a Reply