“Ten years ago, when government reversed their decision and allowed cryptography codes to be shared, they predicted that government would suffer a fall as a result. They thought that they would no longer be able to collect taxes, or carry out surveillance, etc. But a decade later, ideas about cryptography have been eroded, and surveillance is at an all-time high, and privacy an all-time low”.

Marlinspike explored the idea of choice and privacy. “The only difference between carrying a government issued tracking device and a cell phone, is that you choose to carry a cell phone”, he said. He then went on to challenge this choice – “but how much of a choice is this? You need technology to participate in society”, he said, “Technology changes the fabric of society”.

Google, he declared, “are in the surveillance industry. They’re in it for different reasons – to get ad revenue – but they are still in surveillance”. Marlinspike went as far as to announce that Google actually know “more about its citizens than Kim Jon-il does”.

Google, he said, is the perfect example of how it’s becoming harder not to participate in their ‘regime’. The choice might still be there, but it’s becoming narrower. “Not participating in Google, for example, is like removing yourself from society. You can’t email anyone with a gmail account, you can’t use their search engine or any of their tools”. Marlinspike considers this “a choice that isn’t really a choice. Eventually, they become demands”.

Google, said Marlinspike, “quite often know that you’re thinking as well as doing. Google have their own definition of ‘anonymity’”.

In order to overcome this predicament, and use Google without being tracked and analysed, Marlinspike has been involved in the creation of a Google Sharing Proxy – googlesharing.net – in which SSL connections mean that Google can’t see your search data or see you using their services. More information can be found on www.thoughtcrime.org, www.whispersys.com, and www.googlesharing.net.