[leeoniya]

> You're thinking Chinese surveillance

the big irony, of course, is that i'm much more comfortable with China surveilling me than the US, since the latter can throw me in jail, seize my assets, and ruin my family's life, while the former cannot.

[stronglikedan]

why would the former bother, when all they have to do is take you to one of their secret police stations in the US and disappear you?

[therobots927]

Still a much lower risk than Kristi Noem deciding you represent a national security risk because you tweeted “Fk ICE”

[ok_dad]

America probably invented extraordinary rendition.

[cwillu]

s/is take you to/is convince you to willing go to/g

[devwastaken]

The CCP can hijack your accounts and absolutely do all of those things, using your own government.

[riversflow]

could you provide an example of that happening?

[afavour]

The US government is a democracy and can be replaced should it exceed people’s limits. The CCP… uh, not so much.

I’m not trying to say the US government is faultless but it amazes me how often I see this kind of anti-democratic institition sentiment.

[mikkupikku]

> it amazes me how often I see this kind of anti-democratic institition sentiment.

leeoniya didn't say anything about democracy. The practical reality is that regardless of what forms of government are involved, whichever government has the ability to arrest you is the government which is the greatest threat in your day-to-day life.

[LocalH]

> The US government is a democracy and can be replaced

I'm not sure this is as axiomatic as many think, in 2025

[freeone3000]

It’s not anti-democratic, it’s simply a matter of exposure. China can WANT to do whatever they want to me, but I have no assets in China, no trade in China, and neither me nor anyone close to me will ever go to China. So it simply matters a lot less what China has on me than the country where I have friends, loved ones, financial assets, property, and frequently visit.

[array_key_first]

It's not anti-democratic, it's just pragmatic.

Yes the US is a democracy, but a lot of our systems suck ass and are also close in proximity. You DO NOT want to get into legal trouble in the US. Our justice system is beyond fucked. If there's one way to permanently ruin your life in the US, it's getting into legal trouble. You're better off smoking crack cocaine, that's probably healthier for your livelihood.

I don't know about China's legal system, but even assuming it's more fucked, it's all the way over there. Not here.

The main trouble with Flock and companies like them is that they attach to our broken systems like a tumor. If the system fails, which it often does, these accelerate it and make it worse. If you get falsely accused of something or piss off the wrong PD, this shit can ruin your life. Permanently and expeditiously.

Even if you are the most Moral Orel you should be skeptical of these crime reduction claims. They don't just beat down crime, they beat down regular people, too. And if you ask them, they don't know the difference.

[tremon]

A democratic government that tramples all democratic processes ceases to be democratic.

[bean469]

> The US government is a democracy and can be replaced should it exceed people’s limits

In theory, yes, but why do you think that it would be possible to forcefully replace in practice?

[seniorThrowaway]

Maybe it isn't the US government we need to worry about. What's stopping Flock from compiling and selling personal dossiers on every citizen like all the other big tech companies? They're just a private company so nothing to worry about, right?