So recently, the website Reddit removed a very special clause from the so-called "transparency report" it published this year called a "Warrant Canary." I know, neither of those terms mean anything to most of you, and Reddit probably means very little to you as well. Here's a replacement phrase you might've heard of: Gag Order. That's basically what the removal says: the government took user's data from Reddit, and it isn't supposed to tell people.
OK, so something happened with the government that Reddit isn't allowed to talk about, big deal right? Well, YES. IT IS A BIG DEAL. The removal of the clause is the ONLY legal way Reddit is allowed to tell people that the government asked for data about its users. Until recently, someone given a secret request by the data couldn't even tell their lawyers about it. If that sounds unconstitutional, that's because the entire CONCEPT is.
Federal agencies (usually the NSA, which of course has never done anything sketchy. Ever.) is allowed to do this through the parts of George Bush's Patriot Act, which has received partial extensions overtime, though other parts have been removed because seriously even the government occasionally realizes something is stupid.
So, here's the real point this issue brings up: terrorism obviously exists and terrorists obviously kill people, but at what point does protecting against it cause more harm than good? Every citizen of the United States has a certain set of unalienable rights....but apparently "unalienable" only applies when there aren't threats.
Fun fact: The British were fought by people who counted as "threats." "Threats" keep a government in check and make sure that it doesn't use its power in any unjust ways. Sure, this time the threat really does give the people of the nation a reason to fear, but what is the insurance worth?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees" - Emiliano Zapato, Mexican Revolutionary
No comments:
Post a Comment