this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2025
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Privacy

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What dystopian surveillance things from your country you can't escape? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 weeks ago by PiraHxCx@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
53 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Or have to go through great lengths to escape.

In my country you can't buy any medicine without showing your ID... I mean, you technically can, but if you are registered they "give" like an 80% discount, so everyone thinks it's a great deal, not realizing that's the normal price, they are just pretending you can still go and buy a simple cold medicine without sharing your ID, phone, email, and street address with the drug store and whoever they decide to sell that information to, you just have to pay absurdly more. Yeah, you can lie about all the other information, but not really about your ID number. Probably soon, to get the "discount", you are going to have to verify your email or phone number as well.

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[–] freedickpics@lemmy.ml 51 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
  • You have to hand over a huge amount of personal info about yourself & others to estate agents when renting a property - which they then sell to advertisers & you have no opt-out
  • Similarly, landords can require you to use a proprietary app for rent payments, which of course collects & sells your private data too
  • Burner phones are effectively illegal (telcos are required to collect & retain ID of every phone number they register)
  • Telcos and ISPs are required to collect & retain logs of all your activities for a minimum of two years
  • In some cities police can detain & search you & your property for no reason, and require you to remove any facial coverings
  • It's illegal to refuse to hand over passwords to cops (6 years jail is the max term I think)
  • Police can hack your device, take over your social media, delete or modify your data for an investigation, or survey any digital device if they "think it is likely to be used by someone subject to a warrant" (this particular bill was announced and then rushed through parliament in less than 24 hours to give the public as little time as possible to protest it
  • Some social media sites (including github(wtf)) are now required to age-verify all users beginning next month. Which will obviously lead to mass leaks & breaches of private data which the gov will turn a blind eye to

This is Australia. I hate it here

[–] eager_eagle@lemmy.world 33 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

being punished for not giving your phone password to police sounds insane

[–] GreyCat@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

It's the same in France at least

[–] Thorned_Rose@sh.itjust.works 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Over the ditch here, New Zealand isn't much better and like many countries only getting worse. The insane amount of personal information that essential companies (e.g. electricity, property managers, etc) is getting out of control and our digital privacy laws are still in the dark ages.

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

They want it all the data so they can sell well taking all your money. It's insane capitalism is broken and we the people should be revolting instead of just accepting it. If people only knew how much data they had on us.

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[–] DaMummy@lemmy.world 38 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (4 children)

Our president, House leader, Senate leader, head of FBI are all owned by a foreign government, and the ones who aren't, are blackmailed, or paid off to support them at all costs, even if it's committing a genocide. There's no way to escape it, we are a nation under blackmail.

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[–] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 30 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)
  • credit cards, debit cards, and now cashless vendors
  • flock cameras
  • google, fb, and amazon scooping everything I do online
  • license plate readers on cop cars and on random parking lots
  • my work computer taking screenshots, listening, and even scanning how long I spend reading an email to make sure I am not ignoring the nonsense the company directors send us about how great AI is and that we all have to use it EVERY FUCKING DAY
  • membership cards
  • I can't think of more right now, but there are more
[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I've effectively excised fb from my life and i'm becomming kinda proud since so many people still struggle with that one.

[–] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Tbh, me too, but funny enough I've tried to setup fb account just for fb marketplace but I keep getting banned because they want my DL license (lol nah bitch)

[–] RheumatoidArthritis@mander.xyz 2 points 2 weeks ago

it's so dystopian when I travel to countries where cashless vendors are a thing. Recently Germany took me by surprise, they have been a bastion of cash for a long time, and during my last trip there were many restaurants with "no cash accepted" signs. Just like in the UK or Norway where privacy is already a lost cause

[–] kylian0087@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Which company if I may ask? Name and schame... Honestly I would leave such a invasive company. It is not worth it.

[–] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not going to say the company, but every single company I've worked on does this to their remote workers, you just don't know about it.

[–] kylian0087@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

Understandable you dont name it. I never hat a company be like this how ever.

[–] FG_3479@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You can escape the big tech tracking by installing uBlock Origin in your browser, and if you use their services, disabling personalised ads and search/activity history in their accounts.

[–] vas@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

escape the big tech tracking by installing uBlock Origin

Cloudflare and AWS say "Hi" 👋

UBO is a very good tech that I strongly recommend too though. Just gotta be aware of its limits.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Let them build a profile on me I never see their ads anyway. I can minimize but not escape it if I want to partake in modern society.

[–] FG_3479@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Cloudflare just checks for bot activity and AWS is just a hosting provider. They don't use data for ads or sell it to anyone.

[–] vas@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago

The original claim was about tracking ("escape the big tech tracking"), so here AWS and Cloudflare are definitely relevant. The content, including input, also flows through them I think? It's specifically unencrypted if I get it right.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Hahaha I got a sandbox to sell you in the Sahara. Everyone is selling data or ads they are not leaving money on the table.

[–] RaoulDuke25@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I wonder if its illegal to put some clear coating on license plates to prevent AI cameras from scanning it?

[–] freedickpics@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Pretty much. Iirc there are a handful of places in the US that allow license plate covers but it's usually illegal to obscure it for any reason when driving on public roads

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[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

credit cards, debit cards, and now cashless vendors

FWIW in Belgium you can get prepaid nameless cards. The post and their bank partner know it's yours (due to KYC) but not the shops and for online shops you can use drop boxes.

For membership cards I specifically reject because of that. It's optional though so IMHO it's precisely the easiest thing to escape, just say no.

[–] vas@lemmy.ml 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

If Europe doesn't fight back strong enough, Chat Control will be one such thing. All your messages being scanned by a "black box" system. Hopes are on the European Parliament and societal pressure to cancel this now. https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/reality-check-eu-council-chat-control-vote-is-not-a-retreat-but-a-green-light-for-indiscriminate-mass-surveillance-and-the-end-of-right-to-communicate-anonymously/

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 weeks ago

Fight back they're pushing for it. Keeps getting introduced and we'll go through at some point. Unless by Europe you mean individual people but in that case it is already lost.

[–] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 2 weeks ago

License plate readers

[–] Fijxu@programming.dev 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

ID verification for phone numbers.

ALMOST every bank now forces you to have a phone application to authorize payments and each banks implements it in their own way, no standardized way like TOTP (RFC 6238) or Passkeys (WebAuthn), and sometimes those apps force you to use a verified phone (no custom ROM basically) because of security. So if you have no battery (or phone number, because some banks still send you codes trough SMS), you can't authorize transactions.

Most banks use 3rd party, non local AI companies to verify your identify with your face.

Chile :3c

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago

Makes me curious if there is a per country list of banks that provide an option NOT to have that. I know that if my bank were to do force such limitations I'd consider moving to another one.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 16 points 2 weeks ago

Flock ai cameras

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You can't escape when you currently appears life in one of the millons cams anywhere and even with this life in YouTube, additional to the surveillance of big corporations, banks and the own ISP. Privacy nowadays is relative, you can only patch the biggest holes. 100% privacy is stay at home and reading a book with the smartphone turned off.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=live+webcams+around+the+world

https://www.earthcam.com/

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam.html

https://worldcams.tv/

etc.. adding millons more used by police and govs with face recognition soft.

[–] northernlights@lemmy.today 10 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Where I'm from, France, it's not so bad I think. We have pretty strong privacy laws I feel. But now I'm in the US so yeah. I'm in cybersecurity so I see the difference with what employers are allowed to do. Also Flock cameras popping up everywhere. There are a couple near me that make me lose Android Auto's wifi everytime I drive by them so I'm thinking it's intercepting stuff.

[–] sobchak@programming.dev 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There's an intersection like that near me (android auto always drops). I haven't figured out what's causing it though. Haven't spotted a Flock camera there. There's some down the road, but none that I've noticed at the intersection. There are what look like the normal traffic cams there. I too wonder if it's something that's purposely forcing disconnections so devices start broadcasting SSIDs/MAC info or something like that.

[–] northernlights@lemmy.today 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I mean forcing a reconnect to capture the handshake is exactly how I used to speed up WIFI cracking back in college. You would need that to break in a car's wifi in the time it's at a red light.

[–] ShrimpCurler@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm confused... There's an Android Auto WiFi that's available while you're driving around?

[–] northernlights@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago

The way Android Auto connects, your phone connects to bluetooth on the car, then they set up their own little WIFI between them. That's why it doesn't work on VPNs that don't allow split tunneling.

[–] WalnutLum@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Japan just hooked up the national health insurance to the national ID.

[–] PiraHxCx@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hmm... so what does it change? Before you could have health insurance without using your ID?

[–] WalnutLum@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes the "my number card" (national ID) was mostly a volunteer thing but now that it's needed for health insurance it's required of everyone

[–] PiraHxCx@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

That's quite interesting, did you have other sort of compulsory ID before the national one? Like, what did you use to register to stuff, like enrolling in school or college, opening a bank account or getting a retirement plan, etc.

In my country we have both the state and national ID. I guess very long ago you could use your state ID to register to stuff, but as they pushed for more standardization everything started to require your national ID instead, and your state ID card was more a proof that you are who you claim to be (like, you have to collect a parcel somewhere and show it belongs to you, or if you are stopped by the police you can show your state ID)... but usually people just use the driver's license because it has both ID numbers and your picture, so it's a valid document for everything.

[–] WalnutLum@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago

For a lot of people for a long time your insurance card (that didn't have a photo) was the only "identification" you had. Otherwise you had to bring your school ID, work ID etc.

Most people don't have drivers licenses cause they take the train. When you sign up for banks etc you usually have to get a bunch of official documentation from the local ward office with your information.

Proof of identity in Japan has always been a bit of a hazy problem. You sign most documents still with a family stamp, so the idea of what legally is defined as identifying is kind of vague.

Most local offices aren't networked up, so when you move you have to register with your local ward office and the japanese beauricratic army goes and gets the previous ward office to fax over your info.

"My Number" is the japanese governments attempt to get all that stuff wired together in one database.

[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Chat control. Whatever these fuckos who are pushing for this in Brussels are smoking, this must stop.

[–] esaru@beehaw.org 1 points 1 week ago

You can escape from chat control by using a decentralized protocol like XMPP though.

[–] Artopal@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago

In my country it's becoming ever more common that when I visit someone and that person lives in an apartment, the building has a doorman/security and they ask for my id.

Also all supermarkets want to know your id number, but there at least I can say "no thanks".

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 weeks ago

In my country it's just KYC, mostly services, banks and government. The rest is pretty private. Sure, there are cameras all over the city, government and private, but nothing like the Flock bullshit in the US. The cameras here are centralized in the 911 HQ, and no government institutions or police have acres to private cameras.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

ID verification and travel logging on public transport. it started out as an optional "convenience". soon it became the only possibility other than buying an expensive ticket every time you board

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

FWIW in Brussels there are anonymous public transport cards. You can top up your card but it's not attached to your name or ID. If you lose it though, it's like cash, you can safely assume nobody will give it back because they can't. Most people I know do not use them but maybe they do not even know it's an option.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

that sounds good, it would be much better to have that here

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago

Sidetracked a bit but last week I was in the UK. I tried to visit a website (not porn actually, just private messaging on BlueSky) and it asked to verify my age. Initially I thought "Meh... OK... let's see the process" which then lead to installing an app maybe (I'm not sure tbh as I was in rush). Clearly I didn't want to do it because the DM was potentially urgent (scheduling to meet someone ASAP) ... so what did I do? I switched from my browser to my VPN, connected from Austria, refreshed... no age verification. It took me a grand total of 5s to bypass the system.

TL;DR: maybe you can actually escape even though you are convinced you can't.

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