One thing that&#x27;s important to consider here is what happens if a corrupt government sabotages the democratic process. The US deals with that scenario via the second amendment, Germany relies on non-violent means like protests and civil disobidience (which can be very effective tools as demonstrated by the reuinition of Germany).<p>The problem with both approaches is that it requires organisation among citizens, which in turn requires a way to communicate with minimal danger of the secret police showing up immedietly afterwards. In the past this was ensured because surveilance was extremely hard to scale to an entire country. In recent years mass surveilance has become a reality, is increasingly hard to escape, and requires fewer and fewer human beings.<p>Of course right now the system is limited by judical oversight, and that&#x27;s great. But over the course of decades the seperation of powers is bound to fail occasionally. We need more protection from the government than that.<p>&gt;If you oppose the German government employing spyware, you should consider whether you also oppose it arresting people in general<p>Obviously we still need law enforcement, but police existed before the wiretap and can exist in a post-wiretap world.