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I'll agree it's not a perfect analogy. But if you want to press me on a potential abuse of a government-mandated and punishable order of wearing masks: Abuse of power by corrupt government officials that can use this extra and easily-fakeable "offense" in order to punish individuals that they don't like. Or what about the negative social aspect of creating laws that have neighbors secretly reporting each-other for this? Or the potential for child-traffickers to gag + hide the gag with a mask while they're busy engaging in trafficking?

If you sit long enough you can come up with a potential abuse for any government law or idea. Just as is done with mass-surveillance. What we don't do is sit down and come up with extraordinary ways and means for us to use powerful tools/ideas/solutions such as surveillance in a responsible and safeguarded manner that is not exploitable by bad individuals in government, or bad governments themselves.




> can use this extra and easily-fakeable "offense" in order to punish individuals that they don't like.

So they can fine them? There are already hundreds of offenses that can be used for that purpose and that can actually land you in jail.

> the negative social aspect of creating laws that have neighbors secretly reporting each-other for this?

Is that really happening? There is no special incentive for reporting people for not wearing masks.

> Or the potential for child-traffickers to gag + hide the gag with a mask while they're busy engaging in trafficking?

They could already do that, wearing masks was already legal.

> If you sit long enough you can come up with a potential abuse for any government law or idea. Just as is done with mass-surveillance.

False equivalence, the potential abuses from mass-surveillance are much more dangerous.




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