Your 'real world' doesn't include electronic data?
by geekotourist (80163)

Perhaps you're confused by the name "Electronic Frontier Foundation"?

• the "Electronic Frontier" is woven into everyone's life: what happens electronically can be more real, longer lasting, than any real-world event, and
• "Foundation" doesn't mean the same as "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation" (it can buy countries), or the "Ford Foundation" (it can casually sponsor a year of PBS). The EFF, unless it wins the trillion-dollar lawsuit, is a small donor-supported non-profit.
• And in some cases, the ACLU doesn't do as well [slashdot.org]. The EFF's AT&T lawsuit is still going strong [slashdot.org]. The EFF filed in January to get that amazing 'not automatically dismissed on state secrets' ruling. I admit I'm biased- I know people there and am a supporter- but damn, they're good.

Consider warrantless searches. [eff.org] In your 'real world,' a set of police can only do a few warrantless searches per day- maybe 10 or 20 if they have their door-kick down. In the actual world, a set of searchers hooked into AT&Ts database can do millions of warrantless searches per day. And they don't leave busted doors behind as a clue.

Consider voter disenfranchisement [eff.org]. In the old days, you had to physically block people from voting, one by one. Now you can do badly-designed joins on voter-rolls and stop thousands of people from voting in an afternoon.

Consider Free Speech [eff.org]. In your world you have to hire goons- expensive at overtime- to physically intimidate speakers. In the actual world automated intimidation, expensive intimidation, [chillingeffects.org] exists. In the actual world, entire subjects can be disappeared from view [eff.org], thousands in one software installation.

Or maybe you really don't worry about building innovative tech companies [eff.org], music CDs [eff.org], publishing electronically [eff.org]. You really don't worry about credit scores, credit card records, HIPAA, test results, university records, voter data, flight records, VoIP calls... in your world. Funny, I didn't think they'd let you online in Supermax, Mr. Kaczynski.