The claim to have “nothing to hide” was not just born our of ignorance, but also out of comfort - to not having to do anything about it.
Now that even the last one accepted that they do indeed have something to hide, but in order to justify their own inaction, it’s labeled as inevitable: privacy is not real.
They are lying to themselves, because doing otherwise would mean they have to admit being wrong.
The ‘nothing to hide’ argument seems a lot like that ‘first they came for socialists and I did not speak out, because I was not a socialist…’ quote. Sure you have nothing to hide right now, but what happens when something you weren’t hiding becomes a target.
i think its a propganda to destroy privacy like the one “police are public protector” only the high ups and they know what police means but the general public dont .
I mean, yeah, privacy isn’t really a thing in our digital surveillance age. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna make it as hard as possible for them. Make em work for it.
“i don’t have anything to hide” mfs when their passwords get leaked:
There’s worse.
They already know everything about me anyways. If I can exchange my data for some free and easy to use service, I’m more than happy to give.
I hate defeatism.
Its not even defeatism, its willingly sacrificing themselves to the machine in hopes it will be merciful!
True.
And they’ll follow that up with a somewhat snarky comment that “You’ll be eliminated by the machines first.”
I don’t, in general make this same bargain, and I’m not more than happy to give my data, and thus sacrifice my privacy. However, I have had to reckon, and I think many of those who value privacy must too, with the fact that it isn’t inherently valued by everyone, that simply adequately communicating this in a way that’s better understood won’t translate to people suddenly realising what they’re giving up. We aren’t always simply one great analogy away from changing every person’s world view and likely many have come to their view from a place at least as well informed as those of us who jealously guard our privacy. I also have to reckon with the fact that to some extent, my own desire to protect my privacy is at least not fully explainable by logic and rationalism, especially in light of how difficult it is to protect and how easy it is to have unwittingly ceded it. You might call that defeatism, and to simply conclude “well I lost some privacy, so I might as well give it up completely” is accepting defeat, again not something I’m yet prepared to do, but it is also perhaps important to acknowledge and factor present realities in to one’s thinking. It might sound defeatist to point out an enemy’s big guns pointed toward you from all sides, but it’s insane to ignore them. That quote that you’ve produced, while antithetical to my thinking, really isn’t irrational or illogical, and only defeatist if you were onboard with fighting to begin with. If you do not value your privacy and you get something useful in exchange for its sacrifice then it would seem obvious to part with it gladly and it’s difficult to offer a rational reason why someone shouldn’t. My strongest motivation for protecting it is more idealistic than personal and has more to do with a kind of slippery slope argument and a concern for hypothetical power grabbing and eroding of our rights and autonomy. I like to think that’s reason enough, but at least right now, for almost everyone, none of those concerns represent clear nor present dangers and I can’t prove it definitely will become such in future though I certainly feel like it has accelerated trends firmly in the direction of my fears.
Damn, how did you get three complete troglodytes in one place?
Reddit
I do fall into that way of thinking sometimes and in discussions and such, but even then, i still take steps to maintain a level of privacy. It’s for stupid reasons, I’m admittedly not knowledgeable whatsoever on data privacy. (As in, why is it necessary since we already carry a lot of data collection devices with us as we go around that I know most people dont even think about.) But it makes me just feel better, I guess.
Most of my friends have actually moved away from Firefox to more tailored browsers like opera, which i think is much worse in terms of data protection. (again, uninformed. It’s just something I’ve seen thrown around, feel free to correct me if that’s wrong.) At times, it really is quite easy to start thinking like the people highlighted in the post. I’m 22, and have a degree in computer science. There was a module on data security, but it was mostly focussed on data leaks and encryption methods rather than the ‘philosophy’ on why data protection is important. Even in the final year of uni, people were being quite flippant with it.
It’s probably just a cultural shift, as more and more companies collect mass amounts of user data, people gradually get more comfortable with the idea I guess. Especially with gen alpha, who are born into a world where it’s just a fact that all companies are actively farming your data. To them, it’s not something to be concerned about whatsoever. There was never a time in which they had privacy, especially since they are introduced to technology before they can even speak, write, or remember.
What I’ve put above is mostly just waffle honestly, but I hope it provides something to someone LMAO.
Edit to add stuff: I guess to make the point more obvious, for younger generations it’s because privacy just isn’t real for them.
Hopefully the Trump presidency is a wake up call in the importance of privacy. As we slowly move towards fascism, privacy becomes more important than ever.
Is it me or do those comments feel very shill-like?
Yea this has really big astroturfing vibes.
Yes some subreddit is piviting hard captalism recently, giving up their dignity to defend corporations with their life.
A similar argument I hear is “If they want me, they will find and arrest me no matter my precautions”.
Kinda yes… But why are you talking about threat models that include someone deliberately hunting you down? We are not high-ranking dissidents or criminals that they would put effort and money into finding. Our concern is passive surveillance - maybe the collected info doing us a disservice (like being leaked for scammers or sold to an evil ex), maybe even something mundane getting flagged and us being arrested just to serve as an example.
e.g. Period tracking apps being used as evidence when prosecuting people who seek abortions
those can be open-source and selfhosted, no?
Yes, absolutely! But that wasn’t the point - rather that the spyware ones are popular for some reason, and thus can serve as a sad example of “low-hanging fruit to make an example of”.
(TBH I don’t get the need for a separate app in general, seems gimmicky, I just use a normal calendar)
they collect data about every user, not just abortion seekers, propably
Yes. There are a lot of reasons why any one of us could turn into a high value target at the drop off a hat. If not to a government, then to an organisation or a lone lunatic.
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The mindset about privacy is just all wrong. It’s not an all or nothing game. Any privacy gain is a net positive to no privacy at all.
To many people conflate privacy with anonymity or try “accomplish” privacy without understanding what they want to be private from and why.
Exactly. Now to click the “copy text” button and keep your fine words handy for my next convo with a friend who thinks life with Facebook and Google is grand.
“No, they would never track us. But if they were, it would be a good thing.”
Firefox can’t load HTML pages? Huh?
My “progressive” friends are this way - “everyone already has everything, whatever who cares”
my guess is its just another flavour of cope.
imo likely because recent history has began to undermine the delusions which were propping up the former flavour.
i had the same thought since i sometimes wonder “why bother” when i know that things like prism gave them everything they wanted 15 years ago.
Haha holy shit id forgotten. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM
i’m reminded of it each time i see the duct tape covering the camera of my work laptop. lol
“If people say edge is bad they should consider thinking about your windows 11 os lol”
