>I am not worried about the government spying on me. I am very worried about these for-profit businesses spying on me and outing my information on the internet.

>I am not worried about the government spying on me. I am very worried about these for-profit businesses spying on me and outing my information on the internet. Why isn't arstechnica writing stories about that instead? You have the right to a private conversation. You don't have the right to a secret existence. Directory information (like a phone number) is not that private because there's nothing anyone can really do with it besides call you. We don't really recognize a right not to be called. Your phone records, however, lead to information about your friends, lovers, and business dealings. Exposure of that information is a much bigger deal to most people than the mere fact that they exist.