Yeah. It’s also very sad to realize how many competent people refuse(d) to understand that it was written from the very beginning. And that is not for the lack of people raising concerns very early on.

Personally, I’ve almost given up on protecting my online and digital privacy’. Almost, because I still do all I can to protect it but I also don’t have much illusion how fragile it is. My reasoning has been quite simple, to be honest: the day realized I could not trust online/tech, that those device I use and paid for never were fully ‘mine’, and that there is not much I can do to change that I did the only thing a non-tech-savvy person like myself could do: I stopped trusting said tech. I now barely use them, and barely for any personal matters.

Offline and analog is my choice as much as it is still possible. They can’t as easily spy on (or track my usage of) my pen when I write or sketch in my notebook (they can’t even tell if I dare sketch naughty erotic sketches!), nor can they tell to whom I show said sketches, and texts. They can’t look over my shoulder while I’m reading a printed book, nor can they remotely delete it or edit its content the day they decide the book should be edited or destroyed because deemed not acceptable anymore. They have no idea what offline media I watch (ie, DVDs). They have no clue how poorly and with whom I play chess on my portable chess set from the 80s (or on my much older desk set) that require no batteries and no software and security updates to keep running flawlessly. They can’t track my every moves through my dumb mechanical watch either. And they don’t know what food I eat or what goods I buy if I don’t use some online delivery services and if I pay with cash.

They’ve already started changing access to cash. here in France, it’s now illegal to go out with more than approx. 1000 or 1500€ and anyone trying to withdraw more than that is expected to justify their use before getting access to what is supposed to be their own money.

But for the rest, there is not much they can do against offline/analog. Beside, maybe, forbidding the use of offline media, control access to sheets of paper (I’ve learned decades ago how to make my own paper). And the could also stop teaching kids handwriting so they would have to use device of some sort. Oh, wait…

It remains to be seen if any of these efforts will curb or limit in any way what is now a global multi-billion dollar market,

Is anyone still doubting how far they’re willing to go? I don’t.

edit: missing words.