It encrypts morally suspect information in order to dull reaction to it: for example, the phrase collateral damage to refer to the manslaughter of innocents.
In the context of international law, collective punishment means the imposition of specific criminal penalties on innocents, not measures that impact collaterally on the population at large.
The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents entering unawares into any potentially dangerous or hostile situation.
