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Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

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Re: Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

#21

Post by okasaki »

Privacy also allows rich people to hide their wealth and avoid taxes, it allows secret government agencies and other powerful organizations to publish anonymously and influence public life in illegitimate ways, and other bad things. Finally, privacy is inherently anti-"information wants to be free".

Re: Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

#22

Post by luxuryballs »

freedom is so often the shadow of privacy, thinking of being “secure in your papers against search” in the 1700s makes me imagine the authors didn’t want the government to easily know private things such as my income which back then required a lot more physical access

Oh and on that note the reason for a warrant is to show YOU that the government has invoked the law IN ADVANCE, it’s not for anyone else but YOU, “no-knock warrants” take a very important aspect of why we require a warrant out of the equation, it’s absurd

Re: Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

#23

Post by lifeisstillgood »

Secrets are real (and hard to keep), but privacy is just the politeness of your neighbours.

We should never confuse the two - people seem to think that a right to privacy means a right to secrecy. It does not and never can. People have behaved badly enough with so called online anonymity.

We will have our entire lives stripped bare and laid out on a digital plate - this will enable an incredible outpouring of new lessons, psychological, criminal, mental health and happiness - if we treat it right. If we give individuals control over who can use their information, if we ensure PII is treated like a lawyer treats their clients confessions, that epidemiology can get what advertisers never can, we shall find that it’s not “no-one can ever know” but “health researchers can know, but I would rather my employer does not and I hope my friends understand”

We spend 20 years training children as to what is and is not acceptable in polite society - and it’s going to take a generation to figure this new set of etiquette out - but I am betting the juice is worth the squeeze

Edit: in short, it’s not the data that’s collected, it’s who uses it and how. Focus on that.

Re: Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

#24

Post by swores »

w4rh4wk5 wrote: post #9

> If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear. I've always taken issues with this phrase as many people would be lead to believe the opposite as well: If you have something to hide, you have something to fear. Which further suggests that as soon as there's anything you want to hide, that has to be something criminal. Of course, this is utter garbage. People _do_ have things to hide, and it is rarely cri…

No it doesn't imply anything criminal. Many people have things they wish to hide that have nothing to do with being illegal, from reasons for being fired from their last job to the amount of alcohol they're drinking alone at home to nude photos they shared with an ex, to... anything.

There's a huge number of things to be potentially embarrassed about, ranging from things that most other people would say there's no need for embarrassment all the way up to things that could be career- or relationship- ending even though fully legal.

Re: Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

#26

Post by pwython »

I'll admit I'm someone who has always said "I have nothing to hide." Do I want someone physically recording me outside my window while changing clothes? No. But the majority of the time, we're just talking about targeted advertisements (which I actually prefer over random crap). Or a system that listens to keywords on phone calls that may identify and deter a terrorist threat. I don't see how this relates to "freedoms of expression." Before the downvotes, please give me an example of where I should be scared. I'm open to learning.

Re: Why privacy is important, and having "nothing to hide" is irrelevant (2016)

#29

Post by nayuki »

acqbu wrote: post #27

* privacy IS important * lists gmail address in footer

People can create whatever email address they want. People can choose to disclose whatever information they want. Privacy is about not being forced to disclose things you don't want.
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