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Who's Afraid of 1984? Well, me. I don't agree with this author's conclusions; since I think the spread of high-tech does put personal liberty and privacy at an extreme risk. We don't have especially private lives anymore - we are filmed when we go out; recorded when we ring people; anything we post on the net is available to the world and could remain so for decades (eg. newsgroup posts from years ago); banks record where we purchase goods, companies record exactly what we bought.... and in the middle of all this, the security of this sort of data is pitifully "secured" by organisations that care only for dollars. China is not proof that you can't stop technology - China is proof that you can censor even the most determined new technology. The people can fight back, but the fact is the goverment is (pretty openly) acting the same way Orwell's Big Brother behaved. When your privacy and freedom to access information are both curbed or denied; how can you say there is no risk to the individual?

This article proposes a counterpoint to my views; the author seems to have an incredible amount of trust in his government and all others in power. Many observations are true; but the conclusion...? You decide. That's the point.

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