James O'Brien Explains The Danger Of Letting The Govt Read Private Messages
27 March 2017, 11:02 | Updated: 27 March 2017, 14:47
As the Home Secretary says the security service should be able to access messaging services like WhatsApp, James explains the danger of this.
"Someone who is prepared to sacrifice their liberties on the altar of their security is a fool who deserves neither."
This is the Benjamin Franklin quote that James says we should bear in mind as the government seeks to access private messages in response to last Wednesday's attack in Westminster.
He also cites examples from other countries, where people's private messages could be used against them.
"I used to be a fully paid up member of the nothing to hide nothing to fear brigade, but you look at what Vladimir Putin is doing to political opponents and journalists in Russia at the moment, one of his main opponents got locked up this weekend.
"And then you look at what can happen in America if a country like America can elect a president like Donald Trump, who would love nothing more than to lock up his political opponents and his journalists."
The current government is unlikely to exercise the kind of crack down seen in Russia or imitate the threats heard in America, but James says we need to think beyond the current government.
"It's not about the government you currently have when you surrender these freedoms that you enjoy, these privacies that you enjoy, it's about a government you might have at some point in the future."
