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So, suggestions on how to combat this?
https://www.techlore.tech/goincognito
https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy
disclaimer: some of these groups hate each other, I have no affiliations and don't know the history of them, I'm just compiling resources in no particular order here.
I think most people who say "I have nothing to hide" are just mimicking a slogan they no doubt heard someone they respect or at least think talks well say Another common refrain, especially since Snowden, is just glib defeatism ("they already have all my info anyway") which is also a poor way to think about policy (and to make personal choices, but I won't argue those with most people) I really think the main reason…
Not just spying, but for many/most - the harm is also. Most people struggle on the day-to-day; getting worked up that a random boogieman is compiling a profile on them to serve ads leads to a big pile of 'so?'.
When Windows Recall was announced as an example; I started asking (non tech, mostly boomer) people their take on it. I almost universally got a 'neat!' response. The security implications simply didn't register or matter, even when I explained them. I felt like I should be wearing a tin foil hat.
> 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…
They won’t even let us see their “private” messages to other politicians let alone let us see them neglect their families.
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 "freedom…
Will your logged activities of today be acceptable to every regime in your nation’s future?
Similarly, I think most people don't have much to hide, but when they want their legitimate privacy, they should have all the tools and rights to it.
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 les…
The only sort of society where your view should be acceptable is a society where every individual accepts their every thought and action is observed equally by all other complicit individuals.
These people should be told this in no uncertain terms.
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 "freedom…
Also, more mundanely, among the data that's collected by various unaccountable agencies, including nonconsensually, as in the case of things like Equifax, can be used to impersonate you and frame you for crimes, or just steal/use your money. This happens to millions of random people every year and is a direct consequence of a loss of privacy.
A loss of privacy has systemic consequences that change society for the worse. But even if you don't care about anyone but yourself, privacy erosion creates an ever-increasing chance of your life being ruined by overzealous governments making a mistake, or criminals targeting no one in particular but randomly getting you by happenstance
> 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…
Any politician pirring forth this stupid statement needs to be asked if they are willing to submit to having their lives filmed 24/7 with no censorship of anything. They won’t even let us see their “private” messages to other politicians let alone let us see them neglect their families.