--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Converting the Internet into a system of…" description: "\"“Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of repression, thre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/glenn-greenwald-1215_history_converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of_64782.jpg" --- # Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus… ![“Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of repression, threatening to produce the most extreme and oppressive weapon of state intrusion human history has ever seen.” quote by Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/glenn-greenwald-1215_history_converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of_64782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/glenn-greenwald-1215_history_converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of_64782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/glenn-greenwald-1215_history_converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of_64782.jpg) > ““Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of repression, threatening to produce the most extreme and oppressive weapon of state intrusion human history has ever seen.”” [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that turning the Internet into a surveillance apparatus destroys its original promise of openness and becomes a powerful instrument of state oppression. **In simple terms:** Surveillance erodes Internet's freedom. Key Takeaway Privacy loss fuels authoritarian control. Themes privacy surveillance digital freedom state power technology ethics Mood concerned critical cautionary Type warning political critique philosophical observation When to use this quote - government monitoring of online activity - corporate data harvesting - authoritarian regimes restricting internet access - activists facing digital repression - citizens concerned about privacy Key Concepts surveillance state digital rights information control civil liberties Practical Applications - policy advocacy for net neutrality - designing privacy-preserving communication tools Questions to Reflect On - How does surveillance reshape the public sphere? - What safeguards can preserve internet freedom? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Repression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repression/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) ## Related quotes > [In China, Internet surveillance has already become a profitable industry. In fact, a growing number of private firms eagerly assist the local police by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/in-china-internet-surveillance-has-already-become-a-profitable/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [We should not be comfortable or content in a society where the only way to remain free of surveillance and repression is if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/we-should-not-be-comfortable-or-content-in-a-society-where-the-only/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Once the government can demand of a publisher the names of the purchasers of his publications, the free press as we know it disappears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/once-the-government-can-demand-of-a-publisher-the-names-of-the-2/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [“The record is suffused with examples of groups and individuals being placed under government surveillance by virtue of their dissenting views and activism—Martin Luther…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-record-is-suffused-with-examples-of-groups-and-individuals-being/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/edward-snowden-the-whistleblower-behind-the-nsa-surveillance/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [What state surveillance actually is is best understood by the NSA's own documents and own words, which I think as you know I happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/what-state-surveillance-actually-is-is-best-understood-by-the-nsa-s/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [To permit surveillance to take root on the Internet would mean subjecting virtually all forms of human interaction, planning, and even thought itself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/to-permit-surveillance-to-take-root-on-the-internet-would-mean/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“knew from my years of writing about NSA abuses that it can be hard to generate serious concern about secret state surveillance: invasion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/knew-from-my-years-of-writing-about-nsa-abuses-that-it-can-be-hard-to/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“The idea that we should dismantle the core protections of our political system to erect a ubiquitous surveillance state for the sake of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-idea-that-we-should-dismantle-the-core-protections-of-our/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“No matter the specific techniques involved, historically mass surveillance has had several constant attributes. Initially, it is always the country’s dissidents and marginalized who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/no-matter-the-specific-techniques-involved-historically-mass/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“mass surveillance is a universal temptation for any unscrupulous power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/mass-surveillance-is-a-universal-temptation-for-any-unscrupulous-power/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“A prime justification for surveillance—that it’s for the benefit of the population—relies on projecting a view of the world that divides citizens into categories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/a-prime-justification-for-surveillance-that-it-s-for-the-benefit-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Surveillance breeds conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/surveillance-breeds-conformity/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“mass surveillance kills dissent in a deeper and more important place as well: in the mind, where the individual trains him- or herself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/mass-surveillance-kills-dissent-in-a-deeper-and-more-important-place/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“The evidence shows that assurances that surveillance is only targeted at those who “have done something wrong” should provide little comfort, since a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-evidence-shows-that-assurances-that-surveillance-is-only-targeted/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## More by Glenn Greenwald > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“The evidence shows that assurances that surveillance is only targeted at those who “have done something wrong” should provide little comfort, since a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-evidence-shows-that-assurances-that-surveillance-is-only-targeted/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-hardly-news-that-the-obama-administration-is-intensely-and-in/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Only In America can a renowned and devoted terrorism supporter like Peter King be the arbiter of national security and treason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/only-in-america-can-a-renowned-and-devoted-terrorism-supporter-like/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Above even our physical well-being, a central value is keeping the state out of the private realm—our “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/above-even-our-physical-well-being-a-central-value-is-keeping-the/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left, such is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/that-capability-at-any-time-could-be-turned-around-on-the-american/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“the desire for privacy is shared by us all as an essential, not ancillary, part of what it means to be human. 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Someone my government tells me is a terrorist; 2. Someone my President decides to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/terrorist-noun-1-someone-my-government-tells-me-is-a-terrorist-2/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) [Explore all 270 Glenn Greenwald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. 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