I know data privacy is important and I know that big corporations like Meta became powerful enough to even manipulate elections using our data.
But, when I talk to people in general, most seem to not worry because they “have nothing to hide”, and most are only worried about their passwords, banking apps and not much else.
So, why should people worry about data privacy even if they have “nothing to hide”?
“I have nothing to hide”
“cool, let me have your credit card number and billing address”
Social security number, all of your tax records, banks statements, and purchase histories, your menstrual cycle timings, medical history, all the photos of your children, a copy of your house and car keys, oh and, let me know when you leave your house and when you are going to back…
I like to say something along the lines of this “Why do you close the door when you use the restroom? You don’t have anything to hide right? It’s only natural what you’re doing in there. It’s because you want privacy and the same goes for your data online.”
“Take your pants off and walk outside”
Edward Snowden remarked:
Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
There is a wikipedia article regarding this argument
This is a nice quote, however it misses the goal of the original post.
For example, I fall into the group of people that don’t care about their digital privacy, but I fully support anyone who decides to go invisible on the internet.
deleted by creator
removed by mod
Then I can place a camera and mic in your house and watch you all day ? No ?
There is no countering that argument. It points to an absolute failing of empathy. Rah, rah Godwin’s law incoming. If you can’t understand “First they came for…” and realize that it doesn’t just stop or start at ethnicity and instead applies to literally everything and anything you care about them it’s gonna take a serious remediative effort to correct that worldview.
Almost a throw away line, but in the original Red Dawn the invading commander issues orders to seize govt records on gun holders as a target.
You may have nothing to hide now but what if your (political) opponents reach a point where they have access to your data and the (political) power to use it? What happens if they don’t like your opinions which (you think) you don’t have to hide now?
My opinions may mostly align with the current general consensus in my country and since I’m not politically active I am rather unlikely to be harmed because of my opinions in the foreseeable future (unless I call someone 1 Pimmel). But there are certain developments that are troubling and there are people who don’t like what I’ve said on the internet (duh). Now, I’m not exactly anyone important and realistically there are far more important targets than me personally. But still, it’s not unthinkable that the things I’ve said (things I’ve looked at on the internet, things I’ve bought, things I’ve like/upvoted) might be used to my detriment if certain people came into a position where they have access to any stored data on me.
This applies regardless of your political leanings. If data exists, no matter how harmless it may seem, there’s always the possibility of people who REALLY don’t like it getting access.
I mean, if you have nothing to hide, then surely you don’t need window blinds or a bedroom door? It should also mean that it’s okay for guests to rifle through your closet and dresser drawers, right?
Ask them for nudes, their porn habits, what toys they have and what their dirtiest kinks are.
I post that information publicly all the time.
Could you do that now? Along with all your social media accounts, your real life address and your place of work?
deleted by creator
most are only worried about their passwords, banking apps and not much else.
Gee whiz, that sounds like something to hide!
‘No one’s spying on me, I’m not interesting’ is more pernicious than Nothing to Hide. Most adults can kind of sense the idiocy of the latter refrain. But ask the utterer why advertising is a trillion-dollar industry if their attitudes and behaviours aren’t interesting, or why a data broking industry even exists, and you’ll typically be asked ‘why care?’
What’s harder to work out is whether the utterance is a genuine failure to comprehend the nature of surveillance capitalism, or a grasping denial of its impact, as though they’re only 80 per cent convinced of their footprint’s worthlessness. It’s difficult to convince someone to turn down their data faucet when they barely acknowledge the faucet’s existence to start with.
My guess is that most people, like you said, fail to grasp surveillance capitalism. They have zero idea of how computers or the internet works, and think that billion dollar companies aren’t connecting data points on their browsing habits to sell them stuff, or even worse, make their findings known to other 3rd parties like insurance companies and scammers. People just literally have no clue. Most people couldn’t even be bothered to educate themselves about what Edward Snowden was talking about.
