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Why Privacy Matters

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Re: Why Privacy Matters

#81

Post by lalos »

stickfigure wrote: post #77
Clo_S wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that's not what I said. I'm trying to show what sharing sensitive information with companies and governments can lead to.

Your thesis seems to be "Facebook knows you're shopping for a new car therefore Nazis." However well intentioned, it strains credulity. You should make a better case for why privacy matters.

Your thesis seems to be, right now things are good therefore at no point in the future will a 'bad actor' government make Facebook comply and facilitate whatever they need to fulfill their goals. Matter fact, there could be a long term scenario were the company gets nationalized or the data centers confiscated and that's the end of it. This is why other countries don't let foreign social networks operate in their 'digital soil', they are aware of the power of it.

The irony is that this same mentality of 'everything is good' was the same mentality that people probably had when they walked over to auto-register on the census as Jewish back in the day. They just didn't see it coming. If we can learn something from history is that every 100-200 years the status quo gets thrown out the window.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#82

Post by AzuraJergen »

wnd_pn wrote: post #37

I totally agree with you. Unfortunately as of today, people are not putting enough attention on who they give their sensitive information to. Data breaches are increasing in number, billion of accounts are hacked every day (I just discovered one of my side-accounts got hacked through https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ), nevertheless the majority of us is still not protecting its data properly (perhaps the problem relies on…

Even when you do intentionally accept to give your sensitive information to X player, you don't what other players will get their hands on that data, whether through breaches, sale of information, etc.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#83

Post by sanderjd »

leakr wrote: post #35
sanderjd wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure you do. Those may be the easiest ones, but they are not the only options. There is probably a discoverability problem though. It's not great if the best way to learn about the other options is through HN comments...

Your "standard" user without any git or HTML/CSS/JS or command line knowledge hasn't a lot of options imho. Obviously, self-hosting with https://sitejs.org/ or something similar would be ideal but when you don't have a dev/IT background and you're looking for a way to host a blog there isn't a plethora of viable and easy-to-use solutions, especially if you don't want to use a service provided by Microsoft, Google, Fa…

There are options like GitHub pages (mentioned here) where you write in markdown. But I agree that this is not a priority of the market.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#84

Post by chaostheory »

tboyd47 wrote: post #57
chaostheory wrote: post #14

With the existence of shadow profiles, is ideal privacy even possible unless you live in a remote area with a tech averse population? What about the census? The data you provide to the gov is also very sensitive and has a history of being abused (see the role of the US Census Bureau in Japanese Internment Camps). However if you don’t provide it, it affects gov funding for your demographic. What about the computer in…

Satoshi Nakamoto apparently did it.

I feel that the public doesn't know that for sure; same with Banksy.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#85

Post by violetgarden »

II2II wrote: post #56
css wrote: post #12

I do not understand what this article is trying to communicate. It starts with a rambling anecdote and ends with a list of some unrelated terms barely tangential to privacy.

This is one of the few times that I found the rambling anecdote relevant, perhaps because it dealt with a significant historical period. Two things struck me: the Jewish census and the human smugglers. I would have to look up the origin and intent of the census, but the moral is that the existence of such records put people in peril. As for the smugglers, the lesson is that trusted people can use that information to…

I found the anecdote really helpful too. Privacy almost feels like an instinctual desire, so I often have a hard time articulating why it’s important. The anecdote gave me a good example of how something that seems benign to disclose can be used to a terrible end. I actually wished the article continued on this path because it was so interesting to read about.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#86

Post by bad_user »

> "On the other hand, open-source software has a less strict definition, and a different philosophy. You can also see the source code, amongst other things."

No it doesn't. The Open Source definition is very much equivalent with that of Free Software, while having the virtue of being more clear, and I wish FS advocates would take the time to actually read it before talking nonsense.

The political vs non-political aspects have nothing to do with their definitions, but with the organizations behind them.

Also not sure what this had to do with the subject of the article.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#87

Post by CarbyAu »

rigel_kentaurus wrote: post #62
css wrote: post #12

I do not understand what this article is trying to communicate. It starts with a rambling anecdote and ends with a list of some unrelated terms barely tangential to privacy.

I loved the anecdote on the Jewish census. Because I am always struggling to find examples about why sharing information might not be dangerous now, but it can be later, and you never really now. I wish the article were about that, about what kind of information we are sharing in the present time, that may come to bite us back. Here is my spin: Information can be used to your advantage (Relevant ads are good when the…

This echoes my concerns about the ephemeral nature of trust.

Be as positive as you can about it right now. Assume they don't sell and trade. Assume they don't have data breaches. Assume they don't directly try to use it for evil.

Well I could trust them now. But the future?

Do I trust every employee they could hire for the length of time(forever?) they hold my information?

For private industry, do I trust whoever could buy their company in the future? (FB login for VR anyone?)

We have been lucky enough that no one is obviously directly using this information to kill/incarcerate people.

Well, outside of China anyway but that is somebodies else's problem....

Which is my point. For many people, if it doesn't affect you, it isn't an issue.

Until it does.

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#88

Post by thedoubleu »

mindfulhack wrote: post #51

I like this article because it reminds us of the relationship between privacy and freedom. Important freedom. Freedoms that go far beyond our computer code. In fact, survival.

I love your comment. I got distracted by what others have already mentioned about the title not matching the content and then failed to see the big picture. Very admirable (to me at least).

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#89

Post by Stierlitz »

We don't have any privacy, we gave it away in exchange for the promise of safety:

“.. the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think, and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillence coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? ..”

“.. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now High Chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent ..”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKnjxT5HRJQ

Re: Why Privacy Matters

#90

Post by auslegung »

matz1 wrote: post #75
auslegung wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm fairly certain we will always require privacy. If I have your credit card number and I want to use it to hurt you, I can, unless there's something else I need that I don't have, perhaps a security code. If someone can figure this out without needing privacy that'd be pretty phenomenal, but my little brain can't conceive of such a thing. And until then, we need very strong privacy.

The solution for the credit card problem would be hard but there are plenty of situation where the solution is not that inconceivable. One way that it may work is if there is way you can trace any transaction good enough so that you can't use the credit card number without revealing yourself. Another example would be if I'm gay. This information can be used to really hurt me in the past but not so much these days. Su…

I agree it would be best to address the reasons why people hurt each other with information (such as someone who is gay) but the unfortunate reality is that will never happen, not until 100% of our population is virtuous, and that’s impossible. And while it may be less damaging today to be identified as gay than it was 20 years ago, in the United States it is now becoming more damaging to be in the majority than it was 20 years ago. As far as I understand Marxism, it’s Marxism: the oppressed will overthrow the oppressor and will become the new oppressors. We’re just trading oppressors, and while it may seem justifiable to oppress the old oppressors, it doesn’t address the issues that people and not virtuous.
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