this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2025
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Privacy

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Every day we get closer to an Orwellian society. The United Kingdom may already be one.

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 38 points 17 hours ago (4 children)

US big tech is influencing europe to do the same as the us, and opening them up for absolute power.

the only way out is to stop being US vassals.

[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 1 points 11 minutes ago* (last edited 10 minutes ago)

No. This is a very naive & dated way of thinking about the world of today. We don’t really have distinct borders distinguishing politicians at that level.

It’s more accurate to say the Davos group is ruling all western nations. What looks like separate world leaders and parties is actually one world-spanning organization of those with power. And what’s worse, they’re all Nazis and technocrats.

The Nazis learned from WW2. If you invade a country, the people fight back. If you groom and install/bribe your own people into leadership positions, the people just let it happen.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 3 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

I'm not going to defend the US and it's tech oligarchs, they are all shit, but the way things are going, the EU and the UK are currently in way worse shape than the US in terms of all this 1984 bullshit.

No country is safe from this anymore, and we may very well be looking at the worse time to be alive when it comes to privacy, regardless of where you live.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca -2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

I highly doubt it's the worse time. There used to be no concept of privacy you lived in a small town everyone knew everything and you lived in a one room house and familys had on bed for everything. There would have been no privacy at all.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 35 minutes ago

That's an opinion lol

We deff have it better now with corpo and goverment replacing family and the hood

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 7 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

my country doesn't seem interested in doing stuff like this for the foreseeable future. of course the us tech oligarchs can impose it or whatever, but eh, maybe homegrown alternatives can come about finally.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 7 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Enjoy it. I'm honestly happy to read this. My country has the bad habit of copying all the crappy shit from the US, and none of the good

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 4 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

mine too, actually. we are currently copying some of their fascists, but this specific way of restricting us doesn't seem to be on their minds for now.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 5 points 11 hours ago

I'm starting to think you're Dominican too 🤣

[–] tantamoq@feddit.nl 4 points 14 hours ago

As a US citizen, pray for us 🙏

[–] pineapple@lemmy.ml 4 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

The olygarch's have ruined everything again?

[–] Toribor@corndog.social 6 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The tree of freedom must periodically be watered with the blood of tyrants.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 hours ago

Also the problem with wealth. No more overthrowing the rich happening.

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[–] onion@sopuli.xyz 19 points 17 hours ago (4 children)

The UK ain't part of the EU mate

[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 1 points 10 minutes ago

Not officially, but the same powerful monied interests control both.

[–] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 1 points 39 minutes ago

France is doing the exact same shit as the UK with age verification...

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 12 points 17 hours ago

the EU is eyeing similar rules

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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 29 points 20 hours ago (4 children)

Old enough to remember how Europeans smugly thought that they lived in some sort of an enlightened and free society.

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[–] ordnance_qf_17_pounder@reddthat.com 81 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Almost the entire western world is going authoritarian. Very worrying trend. It has to be stopped.

[–] DavidGarcia@feddit.nl 13 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

the only thing that can really stop it IMO is mainstreaming decentralized social media and messaging services.

You'd need to effectively replace Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Whatsapp etc.. The only thing that totally keeps us from 1984 is that all these platforms for now have decided to be relatively free and impartial (compared to how bad it could be). But that could change at any time if the powers that be decide to on a whim. They could completely ban all privacy, pacificsm or any kind of political opposition tomorrow.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 hours ago

No it won't stop it. Blood and violence is needed but we are sheep.

[–] banazir@lemmy.ml 76 points 1 day ago (1 children)

From the fact Britain produced Orwell, Huxley's Brave New World, and Alan Moore's V for Vendetta, I figure the UK has always been some shade of "Orwellian".

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago

Historically, the UK has always been very self assured in their goals and never looked for outside input while disregarding the people that they were upending. Anyone who wasn't helping them was viewed as an enemy to be controlled, oppressed , or destroyed. If that isn't a non-political explanation of rightwing authoritarianism, I'm not sure what is.

[–] Soot@hexbear.net 34 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I do agree. But calling the UK Orwellian is kind of funny, given Orwell's 1984 is largely, if not mostly, based on the UK:

  • Like Winston, Orwell worked in the UK as a war propagandist, and lamented that he constantly had to lie and censor facts, but thought it worth it to defeat the Nazis.
  • The 'ministries' were entirely based on the UK's, especially e.g. the 'Ministry of Defense' actually being a ministry of war.
  • Orwell complained that the UK secret police constantly opened all his letters because he was a commie.
  • Room 101 and the Ministry of Truth is basically just satire of the BBC.

As well as cultural changes in the 80s-90s, I think people don't quite realise how much the internet 'escaped' the grasp of governments for the past few decades. By constantly banging the drum of "what about the children D:", governments are finally just catching up to where we used to be.

[–] golden_zealot@lemmy.ml 10 points 21 hours ago

Surpassing where we used to be in that regard as in the mean time they have been busy locking down controls over other facets of society.

[–] inna@lemmings.world 5 points 17 hours ago

For the age verification is it possible to sign a petition? I think is not too late to join forces… or anything but not letting them go further.. as of the chat control probably only contacting the representatives. I really hope lawyers and businessmen try to fight it…

[–] acute_kernel_panic@lemmygrad.ml 18 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

I am not aware of any western country that isn't a police state.

The reason the police state gets worse and worse is simply that our glouriouss western countries shift closer and closer to fascism every day.

Unfortunately that doesn't only impact privacy but also stuff like state repression or presence of state thugs.

To quote very smart people:

OOONEEE SOLLUTION
REEEVOLUTION

[–] andazzo_generale@lemmy.ml 10 points 20 hours ago

I hope for a revolution, but as for my country (Italy), too many people have been brainwashed by mainstream media's pro-European and Atlanticist propaganda. We call them "euroinomani" ("euro "drug" addicts")

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 12 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Is this thread about the rising fascist movements? Oh...

Is it about the refugees from their colonies they drown in the Mediterranean? Oh...

Well is it about the pivot from renewables and nuclear to oil and gas? Wh... well what is...

Oh. This is a thread about your online treats.

#1 on lemmy 'top in last 12 hours'

[–] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

you are saying that as if all (or any) of those would have started to be a problem just in the last 12 hours...

and this is not about "online treats", but online threats. It's not just netflix, amazon and other silly unnecessary things, it's everything, including every forum where people can organize and discuss things, fucking youtube with their tons of knowledge based content, ...

but sure! we have 4 other problems, count climate change too, that's 5, we really should just ignore this one because it's literally meaningless!

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago

You're right! I forgot about the genocide your governments are enabling!

[–] vane@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago (2 children)

We are living in Orwellian society, it's just the news catching up with reality.

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[–] lemming@sh.itjust.works 4 points 18 hours ago

Have you already written to your members of parliament about chat control, and possibly other matters? Seriously, do it. There is very little you can do, but this might actually help. Slightly. Maybe.

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