Whenever i talk to people about privacy, specifically my friends when i tell them why i switched to Signal and stopped using WhatsApp, i’m always met with people saying that i’m just making no sense and “why would you care so much if you have nothing to hide? I don’t care that meta sees that stuff” and some people are just so stubborn to understand that they might even settle on the “what would a billion dollar company want from me specifically?”. It makes me mad how people refuse to even consider alternatives and open their mind a bit. What do you think?
Not caring about privacy because you have nothing to hide is the same thing like opposing freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.
“Okay, unlock your phone and hand it over so I can go through it.”
That’s where they all get cold feet. All of them.
I did this once to someone and they were like “ok sure here you go…” I wanted to then check their gallery just to make a point, but I ended up not doing it because it made me so uncomfortable. Guess I won’t be fit as a totalitarian regime leader 😆. I just don’t understand how some people care THAT little for their own privacy.
Next time just open their banking app and start transfering money to your account, let’s see how long that lasts.
Ask to put a camera in their bathroom
They need to consider the difference between having something to hide and having something to protect. Privacy is something to protect, regardless of what it might be in aid of.
Dynamic pricing.
Your grocery store will know enough about you to charge the maximum amount you’re willing to pay and not a penny less.
This is a good argument.
“Unlock your phone and hand it to me”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought”
I saw someone on YouTube respond with “give me your phone and let me go into the other room for an hour”
what’s accepted now, can and will be used against you…
Ask to see their butthole
Then why do you close the door when you take a shit?
But what are they hiding there?
You have nothing to hide until what was once acceptable rapidly changes.
That’s the angle I take. Its fine now, sure. What about when Nazis end up in charge again?
And then all the sudden you’re a conspiracy nut to be disregarded, all the while they’re saying it and doing it out loud and in broad daylight.
You have nothing to hide from the people currently in power
The people who used to say “I have nothing to hide” the loudest to me changed their tone real quick once Flock cameras started being used for ICE pickups, arresting people for traveling to other states for abortions, etc
This is the most compelling argument. I find it gross that companies build a profile of me, but as long as that doesn’t change my life, it’s an annoying cost of using free services.
However, when the state, the only organization that can legally use violence, has access to that data, it’s a different story. Then it moves from gross to dangerous.
Can I come and search your house? You have nothing to hide so what’s the problem?
do you shot with the door open?
I hate this argument.
why?
everyone shits, everyone knows everyone shits, every one knows what the person in the dedicated shitting room is doing
yet we all close the door
A few points:
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“I have nothing to hide,” means you’ve accepted the premise that the burden of innocence is on you. That you are guilty until proven innocent. There are a couple millenia of jurisprudence, saying ‘innocent until proven guilty’ should be the default. The US 5th, 6th, and 14th amendments get close, but they don’t just come out and say it.
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“If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.” This has been attributed to a few people from Cardinal Richelieu to Voltaire. But the crux is, anyone can make someone appear guilty. Doesn’t matter if you’re innocent. The burden of proof has to be on the accuser, otherwise it’s down to chaos, and tyrrany of the powerful and the mob.
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Personal privacy by default is one of those fundamental rights that gives us control of a lot of things around us. From freely walking down the street, to our shopping habits, license-plate-readers, location-tracking, who we associate with, and our healthcare.
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Imagine if the rules were changed so any time anyone wanted to use our data, including transactions, web and mobile interactions, credit-card, banking, voting, healthcare, whatever… they had to get explicit, single-use permission. How much weight would be lifted from everyone’s shoulder. It means you, the individual are in charge.
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There’s academic data on the psychological effects of surveillance. It has actual effect on one’s behavior and mental health: https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2024/1/niae039/7920510
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At this point, there are too many privacy leaks. The only reasonable solution is to flip it all on its head. EVERYTHING is private, unless there is a legitimate reason to pierce that veil, and the burden is on those wanting the data.
It’ll have financial impacts on many business models. Yes, and? Do better.
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