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> TL;DR: "if I have nothing to hide I have nothing to fear" is absolutely a correct observation False. You’ll fear losing privacy and freedom to speak freely e
by headShrinker 5y ago
> TL;DR: "if I have nothing to hide I have nothing to fear" is absolutely a correct observation
False. You’ll fear losing privacy and freedom to speak freely even if you have nothing to hide. We have seen this effect in real-time as governments began “secretly” monitoring communication in 2006 and even more so as tech companies started banning speech. You will self-censor even when you have nothing to hide.
Privacy is like the bathroom door. We close it even though everyone knows what we are doing. It’s not a secret.
It’s like the freedom to speak even if you have nothing to say.
You wouldn’t use a public bathroom stall that didn’t have a door. You would be plenty angry and confused if I started arbitrarily dictating what you could and couldn’t say.
You have plenty to fear even when you have nothing to hide.
Privacy should not be confused with secrecy. These two are often conflated by those who wish to compromise your privacy.
- not_zxc 5y agoWorse: the "nothing to hide" argument is mistaking who has the power with who would like to have the power. You're the boss of you; no one else has a right to info about you. (sure, barring legal circumstances -- which should be challengable in a court)
- B-Con 5y agoWhat I find interesting is that this is very modern thinking, putting the individual's priority for themselves ahead of the group. Other societies/philosophies would disagree, and state that the individual should accommodate the best for the group, even at high personal cost. I agree with it. Group powers are abused by the individuals in charge, and frankly I just value the individual above the group. But worth noting the distinction.