> if people knew what data the state collected about them, it would defeat the point.
No, it wouldn't. The point of keeping data is to be able to detect unusual activity and cross reference information. Not to spy. The people are the country and they should be able to make an informed decision on what they want the government to be tracking about people.
>No, it wouldn't. The point of keeping data is to be able to detect unusual activity and cross reference information. Not to spy. The people are the country and they should be able to make an informed decision on what they want the government to be tracking about people.
This ideal mindset breaks down for everyone other than "the good guys". The point of keeping what is tracked a secret is to prevent the-actual-people-you're-looking-for from just occluding that particular information. They can't really "opt in" to the kind of surveillance that is necessary to find predictive patterns in their behavior, because they (obviously) won't, and knowing what is tracked just tells them what to spend the extra effort hiding.
No, it wouldn't. The point of keeping data is to be able to detect unusual activity and cross reference information. Not to spy. The people are the country and they should be able to make an informed decision on what they want the government to be tracking about people.