Negative thoughts flooded my mind. The EU is constantly trying to push Chat Control. They’re blocking bootloaders on phones, introducing ID and face scanning everywhere, in the US they’re trying to push system-level verification, corporations are spitting in our faces and don’t even hide it. I know we have to fight. My personal rebellion was joining Fediverse and Lemmy and quitting Reddit. But seriously, boss—I’m tired. Are our attempts to preserve internet freedom futile? Can we win against corporations and politicians who we pay but don’t listen to us?

  • Tangentism@lemmy.ml
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    6 days ago

    But seriously, boss—I’m tired

    Unfortunately, that’s their game plan: be an unrelenting bureaucracy that grinds you down so you eventually just give in and finally accept it as it is now then passively accept what they come up with next.

  • Alfredolin@sopuli.xyz
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    7 days ago

    Of course we can win against politicians who we pay but don’t listen to us. At some point, this is not democracy anymore, and if this is not democracy anymore, then the people is going to express itself through non-democratic measures. Just saying.

    Until then, we have work to do: convince friends, family, politicians. Expose lobbyist, corporations. Support education, spread knowledge.

  • wewbull@feddit.uk
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    7 days ago

    Yes, because “The EU” is not a hive mind. There’s politicians on both sides of this. We just need to make sure we back the right ones.

  • phil@lemmy.openitco.de
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    6 days ago

    The zillion dollar question. The control freaks do their job and have lots of power, but on the other hand the diversity of responses is immense. Things change: it’s evolution. Be smart, adapt, and don’t forget that a better tomorrow for each and all is possible, day after day.

  • WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today
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    7 days ago

    I’m already tempted to resort to wild violence, since we are being pushed out of the last bit of freedom we have. I’m about to get diagnosed and the business has a good chance of succeeding, at which point I can push peaceful measures. I hope I’m not forced to do what I have to, because if I die, my father is infamous for some things, and I’m fairly sure he will leave far more bodies than I ever could.

    He has an actual squad of ex-special force buddies.

    Overall, someone is getting fucked, one way or another. We can’t just let them push extralegal bullshit on us with no resistance.

    I’m trying to actuate the peaceful plan rn, but I’m squeezed so badly already. No one can do you in as much as your own family, I got into so much debt bailing them, and looking for a second job.

  • onlinepersona@programming.dev
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    8 days ago

    Just do your part and don’t get discouraged. You don’t have to do everything. Walk the walk, talk the talk. If things don’t work out, at least you tried; that’s more than the majority did.

    Do what you do no because of some expected local or global outcome, but because it’s right.

    • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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      8 days ago

      i wish i had spent more time on the “pessimism of the spirit; optimism of the will” part before i started to learn about leftism; i’m in a funk rn because there’s a seemingly impenetrable gulf between where we are as a society and where we think we are and it’s making me want to give up.

  • despaircode@lemmy.ml
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    8 days ago

    All things that go up must come down. Icarus’ wings will melt from the sun’s heat. The web will crumble under the weight of llm bots. Markets will crash due to llm’s not living up to their hype. Big tech will be broken up. Billionaires and the trillionaire will be taxed to death. Regulators will lose interest. Let’s have hope.

    • Donn@slrpnk.net
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      6 days ago

      i think it will get better, but probably not before lobbyists make it worse first. i guess my question about it is: will i still be able to go to lemmy/mastodon/peertube along the way, and what would it take from the instance owner’s part to keep governments from forcing users to relinquish IDs?

    • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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      8 days ago

      all long after you die; i wish i could take pleasure from knowing that people that i have zero relation to will get to enjoy this reality.

    • cottonbk@szmer.infoOP
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      8 days ago

      I have experience in programming and building computer systems. 12 years of experience and self-education. The project you linked looks promising. I’m always the first to support and contribute to such projects but we lack infrastructure for this to become a thing

      • moon_crush@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Great! Here’s the thing: power will not build this network, people must. Node by node. You alone can service an decent area with $100 LoRa node and (for bootstrap) an I2P backhaul. I fundamentally believe something like this is essential for a free future — be the change you want to see.

        • relic4322@lemmy.ml
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          8 days ago

          Agreed. And we can easily bridge existing net to alternative transmission mediums while the existing net allows. Providing an easier time for others to adopt. I run a reticulum node as well.

  • Coleslaw4145@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    The EU isnt trying to push chat control. If it was then the EU wouldn’t have shot it down multiple times like it has been.

    Lobbyists are the ones trying to push chat control on the EU.

    • Wobble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 days ago

      The EU parliament president is pushing for chat control. “Th EU” you describe is many layers and facets, and apparently one individual can bypass the will of the parliament. If elected representatives are bypassed, then people must represent their own self.

      • cottonbk@szmer.infoOP
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        7 days ago

        In Poland we call it “gotowanie żaby” (eng. boiling a frog). This is a nice idiom for slow action towards a specific goal despite the resistance of reality.

        • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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          2 days ago

          … slow action towards a specific goal despite the resistance of reality.

          you just explained project 2025 and neoliberalism in general. lol

  • utopiah@lemmy.ml
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    8 days ago

    Yes and honestly we better learn to enjoy the struggle because it’s never going away. We will always have to push back.

  • it_depends_man@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    But seriously, boss—I’m tired. Are our attempts to preserve internet freedom futile?

    Nah, we’re fine. It’s just that serious secrecy is a lot more effort and I’d rather not need that. But we do have all the tools.

    That’s 80% of the frustration for me. They have already lost that fight for control when they legalized encryption. Now the cat is out of the bag.

    For example, encrypting things and hiding them in normal pictures and posts. Using code words in normal online interactions, woven into sentences where there is nothing to decrypt and the message only makes sense to people looking for a message.

    Properly executed encryption isn’t just indistinguishable from regular white noise, if it’s mixed into a channel already carrying a message, an observer not looking for something will never see the difference.