Submitted 1 year ago by HandOfDoom@lemmy.world to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
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”?
You may have nothing to hide, but have you seen what ChatGPT or Midjourney can do? How easily it can AI turn text into an image, or text into reply? Do you realize that the data you are not hiding is used to teach an AI how to manipulate you? It knows who you are, what you like, and most importantly - it is slowly learning (on all of the people who “have nothing to hide”) exactly what to show to you on FB/YT, to eventually manipulate you into doing whatever they asked it to do.
Do you spend a lot of time on YT/FB/IG? Are you happy with doing that, or do you think you should be spending more time doing something else? The more data they have from anyone, including you, the better will the AI be at simply keeping you glued to the screen no matter what. And it’s only a matter of time before someone uses it to change how you vote, or what you think. And you will not notice that, because it has so much data about you, and so much data about everyone, that it’s as good at manipulating you without you noticing based on the data it has about you, as Midjourney is in generating pictures based on the text you give to it. And the only way how they could teach Midjourney to do that, was by giving it a lot of data about pictures.
Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor and government whistleblower, has been credited with the quote “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”. Snowden has argued that privacy is a fundamental right and that without it, individuals cannot have anything for themselves. The “nothing to hide” argument has been used to defend the collection and use of government data beyond surveillance and disclosure, but critics argue that it is inherently paradoxical and that what is hidden is not necessarily relevant. Snowden has also stated that the burden of justification falls on those seeking to infringe upon human rights, and that nobody needs to justify why they “need” a right.
It’s a basic human right, and if you’re in a restrictive country like North Korea or China, data privacy means everything because individuals don’t know if they’re saying something wrong that could put them in danger.
A friend from college who is Chinese told me that whenever they go back to China for holidays, they have to clear out all the chat history on WeChat, a messaging app commonly used in China. This is because sometimes Chinese guards pick someone’s phone and check for any content that could be seen as critical of China.
It’s already been recorded by then. But I guess they’ll need to send someone out to collect you, instead of you swimming into their net.
I just came to the realisation, that all those cold calls where no one says anything are probably just recording for recreating your voice sigh…
It’s possible, but it’s mostly scammers, and possibly a real company verifying that the number is actually an active one, that they should call back in the future when a scammer is available. Also makes the phone number more valuable when they sell it on to the next scamming “company”.
Ask to put a webcam in their bathroom. Privacy is a right and has nothing to do with having something to hide. That’s like saying freedom of speech is not needed because you don’t have anything smart to say.
“You have nothing to hide until the government decides you do.” And by then it’ll be too late to hide it.
“can I look through your phone’s photo gallery?” I think is a pretty good one
Do you go around showing your grandma photos of your asshole? Like, during church and everything? Because if yes I wanna hang with your granny she sounds cool but that’s beside the point.
I usually take the angle of asking them if they act differently when they know they’re being watched and to imagine a life where they’re always watched.
I have done nothing illegal and nothing wrong, yet I have everything to hide.
I don’t trust what judgements our governments 10 years from now wants to put on me, my family and my children based on my current loud political acceptance of trans rights, free abortion, and my express hatred of fascism.
It is like saying you don’t need free speech if you don’t have anything to hide.
tbf, that’s just a reasonable position that a person can have. Your data is an asset, just like your bank account. If you wish to spend it for something in exchange, then do so.
My only concern would be if they were unaware of the potential risks. But most people are aware of the risks and choose to take them anyway. That is simply a choice they are free to make, ultimately.
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.”
What I think about is that you may have nothing to hide but that doesn’t mean your data can’t be manipulated in the future by bad actors.
Who decides what’s “nothing” and what’s “something”? Who decides what’s “hidden” and what’s “open”?
If you aren’t actively in charge of what “nothing” is, you should be engaged in privacy. It’s that simple.
You should just fucking drop it. That’s what you should do.
I don’t care that ADs are targeted vs blasted. I don’t care that meta sells advertising data. Meta provides a service I like and I have no fear that it will be used against me in any meaningful way that will reduce my quality of life.
Just stop. At this point you are quickly approaching Jehova witness level of cringe.
Wow. You read the news and know people have been arrested on the basis of some data that was wrong or misleading? You know companies hire psychologists to make their apps more addicting to you? You know you’re fine with all your sold data, credit scores etc as long as the score is good? There are people who lost their job without being at fault. Good for them they now can’t finance a replacement for their broken down car to get to job interviews.
Oh I know China is activity manipulating me to purchase race cars. I definitely wasn’t going to do that before 🙄
Yeah, I’m not doing anything wrong. Thing is, I’m not the one who would be deciding if the things I’m doing are wrong. The people who would be deciding are determined to find fault with everyone.
Well, maybe you are:
… Or maybe you’re talking with someone who’s in one of those categories.
We have to normalise privacy in order to keep these people safe. For instance, it’s a stupid example but it works, if I always use private browser windows, my husband won’t suspect anything when I’m looking for a gift for him.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg and it’s not even touching some bigger problems:
I mean take a look at what’s happening in Russia (besides the war) - folks over there had nothing to hide until suddenly they had and quite a few people got a prison sentence for their posts, re-posts and likes made before the war. While Russia is quite an extreme case it’s not the most extreme and you can sit on the “it won’t happen to me/here” pills yet so thought those people.
Even if you have nothing to hide yourself (which, as other commenters said, is very unlikely), and can be certain you’ll never have anything to hide ever (even less probable), there will be other people who do have something to hide. That does not mean they are evil (though some are) - maybe they are fighting for a cause, or maybe they are persecuted minorities, or maybe governments and/or powerful organizations will want to bring them harm.
These people, being mere humans, have some minor secrets in their past or present that can be signal-boosted by a malevolent agent to seriously hurt them, their reputation, and/or their social standing. And even if they did mange to obtain the level of sainthood that the have-noving-to-hide folks seem to possess - their perfectly normative personal information can still be used to dox them or retaliate against them in some other way.
If you care about these people and/or any cause they may be fighting for, then you don’t want them to be the only ones who demand privacy. Because:
This will make it much easier to persecute minorities and to retaliate against activists, making society as a whole much worse for everyone.
“It makes your internet faster you dum.”
-Me when someone asks “what all that stuff does?”
I think part of the issue is that people in general don’t think very much beyond themselves. To be sure, privacy issues do affect them personally whether they acknowledge it or not, but it also has implications for the sort of society in which we live and what’s permissible for companies and governments to do. That affects everyone. In terms of how to get people to care about things on that level, clever memes is probably more likely to sway people than elaborate persuasive arguments. They’re just more effective at getting ideas into people’s minds when they’d otherwise not think about them at all.
Say “don’t change the subject.”
Ask them to poop in front of everyone at work.
Every, single, time, they have to go.
Ask them if you can just come into their house at random and start pawing through their underwear drawer.
I mean, it’s underwear. Almost everyone wears it, so what do they have to hide?
It’s less that people have nothing to hide and more that you’re not really sacrificing any privacy
Like tomatoes too much? Straight to jail.
Dohnakun@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 year ago
Look out, fascism is on the rise again.