> "IT PROTECTS THE CHILDREN!" they'll scream, while using it to take more power away from society and concentrate it into their own hands.
I don't think you're wrong in predicting this, and I actually think you're proven correct by precedent already. The answer to this is many and varied, but one core concept that should always be kept in mind is, much like "with great power comes great responsibility":
With great claims comes great burden of proof
What statistics are you trying to improve, and have you got a baseline you can share with us that can be used in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years to prove the effectiveness of this legislation in "protecting the children"? What's your time frame after which, if no measurable improvement to these statistics has been made, then the legislation will be declared a failure and repealed?
(This is, of course living in some kind of utopian thought experiment, and society just doesn't have the memory to allow such holding the decisions of the powerful to account, but it was therapeutic to write, and it's a worthy goal for long term pursuit).
There is no good answer to this. I suggest not wasting your time trying to argue in good faith with irrational or straight up malicious actors. Better invest in ways to protect yourself, your assets and your anonymity through technology.
I know what you're saying is inescapably true, but I feel the need to point out that the fact that is has gotten to the point that it is inescapably true fucking sucks and there is a lot of work that needs to be done to undo it.
True change lies in policy and legislation, not in technical defence. The ability to change policy and legislation is a sign that 'power' is coming back into balance between the people and the government - and if we can't do that, then the power balance needs restorative work.
Technical defence should always exist, but rarely be necessary, especially against the government of one's own country.
(If one can argue in good faith in public, visibly, the bad faith of the opposition matters less than the ability to make aware as many of the public as possible. Bad faith, irrational, or malicious actors should be able to be backed into a corner with their own arguments)
I don't think you're wrong in predicting this, and I actually think you're proven correct by precedent already. The answer to this is many and varied, but one core concept that should always be kept in mind is, much like "with great power comes great responsibility":
With great claims comes great burden of proof
What statistics are you trying to improve, and have you got a baseline you can share with us that can be used in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years to prove the effectiveness of this legislation in "protecting the children"? What's your time frame after which, if no measurable improvement to these statistics has been made, then the legislation will be declared a failure and repealed?
(This is, of course living in some kind of utopian thought experiment, and society just doesn't have the memory to allow such holding the decisions of the powerful to account, but it was therapeutic to write, and it's a worthy goal for long term pursuit).