this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2026

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31

Nothing to Hide? Everything to Lose. (michaelwest.com.au)

submitted 2 days ago by MalReynolds@slrpnk.net to c/australia@aussie.zone

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

On Palantir and Cellebrite involvement with AusGov.

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[–] arbilp3@aussie.zone 3 points 1 day ago

The question is not whether you have anything to hide. The question is whether the people who can see everything — your finances, your health records, your messages, your location, your associations — will always use that power wisely. History suggests the answer. Robodebt provides the Australian example.

George Orwell understood that surveillance doesn’t need to punish you to control you. It just needs to exist. Once people know they can be watched — their searches, their movements, their messages, their money — they start making different choices. Quieter ones. Safer ones. Smaller ones.

That is what total surveillance does to a free society. Not with a knock at the door. Gradually. Quietly. Until silence becomes the habit nobody remembers choosing.

And I'd add that total surveillance will 'encourage' you not to think beyond stupid distractions if you want to be left in peace.