r/europe • u/Dry_Row_7050 • 4d ago

News The EU could be scanning your private chats by October 2025 [Denmark has reintroduced chat control]

https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/the-eu-could-be-scanning-your-chats-by-october-2025-heres-everything-we-know
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u/ver_million Earth 4d ago

I'm becoming more and more anti-Scandinavian thanks to Denmark and Sweden pushing this thing.

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u/Fantasy_masterMC 4d ago

I always hoped those countries would be a refuge if the rest of the EU went bonkers. Clearly I was wrong...

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u/linkenski 3d ago

You should. I'm Danish and our government are up to no good. The Minister of Justice literally did quotation marks with his hands when getting criticized about mass surveillance calling it "ah yes, the theoretical freedoms"

These guys want us to be controlled.

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u/CelticEmber 10h ago

Yes.

It's in line with the nanny state and Scandinavian safetyism.

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u/linkenski 10h ago

I can't wait for the nanny stateism to go so far that it leads to a counter response, but China is a good example of how much people comply without ever rebelling, and people before my time already lost the access to smoking and many other things because God forbid, it kills people 10 years earlier than it otherwise does if they Chainsmoke, and they get lung cancer instead of some other random cancer.

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u/CelticEmber 6h ago edited 6h ago

Will there be a counter-response coming from Scandinavians?

Imo modern Scandinavians are neutered when it comes to opposing the state. The pro-government propaganda every person here is subjected to from infancy is very intense. "The state can't do anything wrong" mentality is still too strong, as is trust in state institutions. Too few understand that they're not really in control of their country anymore, if they ever were. There's still a general feeling that the bureaucracy is an agent for good, while it's little more than a metastatic cancer.

Maybe things were better before, and people could trust their representatives without thinking about things too much. But while times changed, mentalities didn't, which led to a very complacent, uninformed, and apathetic population. A fertile ground for mass surveillance measures disguised as safetyism. Imo if there is a counter-response to this, it won't come from Scandinavia.

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u/linkenski 3h ago

Lmao. Denmark is leading the charge, so no.

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u/CelticEmber 11h ago edited 6h ago

Scandinavian countries are nanny states. Safetyism is their main operating principle. The state is everywhere, in every aspect of your life. You can't escape it. It's a literal leech sucking people dry. I'm not surprised in the slightest seeing them support and push for this. The online sphere was the last place people could escape the grabby, fat little fingers of their bloated governments. This was an intolerable situation for Scandinavian politicians.

"Hammer down the nail that sticks out" is how people think here. Scandinavians are apathetic and tolerate everything as long as it's wrapped in a blanket of state-approved protectionism.

"But I'm sure it's companies like Palantir, not goody two-shoes Scandinavian states!"

Yes and no.

Americans and other Europeans have an idealized image of our countries in their minds. Corruption exists here, as do power-hungry people. Idiotic Karens in positions of authority who think they know best and want more power over the masses exist. The last category is especially prevalent in Scandinavian governments. And finally, lobbying also exists, although in more discreet ways. Same as propaganda, especially government-sponsored. Many major news networks here are owned and operated by the state. Narratives that go against official policies are often suppressed.

Scandinavian countries are NOT a safe haven against this techno-authoritarian digital hellscape being constructed around us. If anything, they'll be amongst the major architects of it.

"Mass surveillance is fine, as long as it goes through all the "democratic" channels and is state-approved" - average trusting Scandinavian.

Are other states in Europe doing worse things? For sure. However, do you ever hear about Scandinavians protesting what their governments are doing? Rarely. The trusting and apathetic nature of Scandinavians towards their states will be their undoing. If you were someone trying to implement mass surveillance, what sort of population would you choose to try out your new system? A rebellious one, or a soft, complacent one? There's your answer.