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Security or freedom?

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(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

I sit among the 300 audience at the Grand Hotel in Oslo and hear the Advocate Association leader talk about The Liberal Border Defense. The following dinner party I drop, leaving rather the hall full of ministers, politicians, lawyers in dark suits, communication advisers with power in their eyes and other nicely decorated Norwegian government figures. To the older, inquiring wardrobe lady, I explain that I need some clear winter air this late November day.

Lawyer Jens Johan Hjort has talked about security and privacy as two inalienable values ​​and questioned how these often contradict each other. Those who fight for privacy are losing blows, he suggested, something I nodded to. Historically, for example, bills on space bugging were strictly rejected by the Storting in 1984, and the next attempt to legalize such police methods 13 years later the same. But eight years later, in 2005, the method was accepted by our parliamentary politicians. This was after September 11. The need was "documented" so that everything you do in your privacy and privacy can be intercepted and stored – albeit with limited use and approved by a judge. Unfortunately, it only took another five years before the authorities removed this restriction. In addition, for efficiency reasons, the police were able to initiate eavesdropping without prior approval, which was done in one of three cases. Norway is indeed a rule of law, so the police / intelligence suspect was appointed a so-called shadow lawyer who could argue against the alleged surveillance need. However, Hjort could tell that the shadow lawyer was successful in only two of 125 cases in 2015. But the police appealed and the lawyer was put aside by the judge. In 2016, the number was reduced to one.

Lawyer Hjort makes a slight grimace in the speech in which he criticizes this as "a natural result of system». For the shadow lawyer does not even have the right to contact the suspect for more information. The suspect can not counter, and is left with the "security" the state gives her. Hjort comes up with a timely question: Which judge would be responsible for refusing to monitor a person if this would later lead to terror? The suspected citizen would never know about the surveillance – if he did not actually plan or do something wrong. So a yes rather than a no too much.

Everyone reads MODERN TIMES must have noticed our persistent criticism of the new control society, made possible by new technology. For some of us, this is a radical question of freedom and solidarity – of an open mentality and humanity.

The new "security blessings" have led the government to put forward a proposal for a digital border defense (DGF). The fatherland's secret services will check data across national borders. But in reality, this also gives police and intelligence full access to everything we write, read and store in various cloud services, such as Google. Digital Border Defense? Hjort ended his hour-long speech by rejecting the proposal for DGF and rather asking for a report in the field of justice.

can one trust the state in one and all?

But unfortunately, laws and desires for control follow the prevailing mentality in society. This is how the surveillance society sneaks up on us step by step. Both the media and government agencies benefit from the fear that is spread – through this they themselves are legitimized. In addition, newer technology has made it possible for marketing giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to track online activity. Facebook has access to your mobile microphone, to capture keywords that can be used for targeted advertising, if you did not deny this when you installed the program.

People are afraid of terror, of abuse, of deviants. But can one trust the state in one and all? See our front page about our state's willingness to misinform our citizens about the war effort in Afghanistan. Influence from the USA helped to lead the Norwegian people behind the light. And what about Libya? And why not just as well say yes to an arming of the police, when there are so many dangers lurking…?

In its management mentality - governmentality – authorities always want more control. In China, they have now launched a large-scale monitoring of citizens' activities on the Internet. Two million Chinese sit daily collecting people's mobile, money use and online data and feed a system that maps citizens in detail: their online and store purchases, behavior on social media, use of online games, if someone goes on a red light, if they pay their bills on time and who they meet when. The "natural system", as Hjort could have called it, could provide low "social credit" and automatically limit the Chinese's job, loan and travel opportunities. Incredibly, the Chinese authorities are quite open about carrying out such a large-scale surveillance maneuver, and expect loyalty to the state and the party.

While I stroll up between Karl Johan's new concrete flower pot masts with the mobile phone's traceable GPS in his pocket, it helps to breathe in the clear air of winter evening. I think that the Lund Commission revealed the surveillance of 29 Norwegians during the Cold War. One of these was a female communist who only after the divorce heard that her apolitical husband was being questioned about her. The woman was monitored for 000 years.

Lawyers are being intercepted by the authorities, and are now not recommended to discuss criminal matters with clients over the phone. And data encryption does not help, as the intelligence has secured access to "eavesdrop" on both your screen and keyboard. As a newspaper editor, I myself have started to sit on my mobile phone when I meet people for confidential conversations.

Dear reader, thank you for the company last year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Truls Lie
Truls Liehttp: /www.moderntimes.review/truls-lie
Editor-in-chief in MODERN TIMES. See previous articles by Lie i Le Monde diplomatique (2003–2013) and Morgenbladet (1993-2003) See also part video work by Lie here.

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