We have already seen multiple instances of law enforcement misusing technology (Flock, for example) with or without a warrent. Before these technologies, it was a lot less convenient to do this.
And that goes further into government. Do you trust your government to see everything you ever wrote? And if you do trust this government, do you still trust it when their opponents win?
There’s also the psychological impact. Just knowing you’re being watched is taxing in several different ways.
It’s also worth it to distinguish between government, police, prosecution, and secret agencies. Just one of them has to be malicious/untrustworthy/incompetent, with enough conformity/disinterest by the others - the latter of which is often a given. It’s not just one party or agency and attack vector we become vulnerable to.
And that goes further into government. Do you trust your government to see everything you ever wrote? And if you do trust this government, do you still trust it when their opponents win?
There’s also the psychological impact. Just knowing you’re being watched is taxing in several different ways.
It’s also worth it to distinguish between government, police, prosecution, and secret agencies. Just one of them has to be malicious/untrustworthy/incompetent, with enough conformity/disinterest by the others - the latter of which is often a given. It’s not just one party or agency and attack vector we become vulnerable to.