“The House of Representatives had just passed Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This legislation would permit the agency, without a warrant, to collect from Google and other US Big Tech companies the communications of Americans talking, e-mailing, or texting with non-Americans outside the country—in theory to gather foreign intelligence, but in practice amassing an enormous amount of data on American citizens.”

We should be protesting against this! It’s both unjust and harmful to all of us. Why must the government spy on our every move? I strive to live peacefully and commit no crimes, yet I am still subject to surveillance. It’s absurd to think that just talking to friends abroad subjects us to surveillance under the pretext of fighting “terrorism.” They haven’t caught anyone significant, and this program seems more about conditioning us to believe that if we do nothing wrong, we have nothing to fear. Just let us live our lives freely! Moreover, as an advocate for free software, I see the TikTok ban as another tool of control, forcing us to conform to their dictates. Fighting tyranny with tyranny is not the solution. 🙈🙉🙊