Still, schoolchildren have controlled botnets... I'm not overhyping the dangers of giving computers to children, my point is that you don't need souvereign power to do that.
As to manipulation of things like HN: The best defense is that such manipulation isn't as easy as just flipping a switch, and there is generally very little interest in doing so. Also Companies where this is an issue (ebay, amzon, google) have very sophisticated systems that can't be fooled or controlled by spying agencies...
As to manipulation of things like HN: The best defense is that such manipulation isn't as easy as just flipping a switch, and there is generally very little interest in doing so. Also Companies where this is an issue (ebay, amzon, google) have very sophisticated systems that can't be fooled or controlled by spying agencies...