What harm does public data have to you? Couldn’t one just ignore the ads? You can’t see anyone watching you, is public data good for public records? (I’m just curious). I know this sounds weird but is public data good for historical preservation and knowledge increasing the importance of the individual? And does public data lead to better products?
Privacy brings security under totalitarian regimes or in countries that shift in that direction. They might say if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear, but there are unjust conditions under which you have to hide things, like that you belong to minority that is targeted by the authorities. Like the nazis did in the third reich, where privacy was reduced during their takeover. Or that you belong to a party that is suddenly framed as evil and enemies of the nation. Or if you have connections to “traitors” or other “scum”.
The red scare is a pretty good example for the US
You don’t even have to go that far back. It’s literally happening right now as red states seek to punish women who seek abortions.
What was it? Kansas? That literally opened an anonymous report page for people who were trans or supported trans rights? What will they do with that data, is the question. Because they’re definitely not pushing HRT, therapy or counselling via ads.
Very true. The red scare was just the first thing to pop into my mind. Probably because I just saw Oppenheimer last weekend, lol
Hell go with the lavender scare too while we’re at it
Wow, I had never heard about the lavender scare until now. Just did a little bit of reading on it. Can’t say I’m surprised, just extremely disappointed.
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Yep, security enables privacy, this is why the two are often referenced together.
These days, with “big data” analysis being possible on such a large scale, it’s possible to gauge the position of the general population, or of subgroup of such with ease. This makes it easy to divide and conquer, to manufacture consent, for whatever those who have access to said analysis desire.
I always tell people, it’s not about your data, it’s about our data.
This was a reply I posted on “What should I say when someone says they “don’t have anything to hide”?” In ask Lemmy a week ago, and I think it’s still applicable here
They don’t choose what they need to hide, if their government outlaws woodworking tomorrow, then any carpenters today go from “having nothing to hide” to “I need to hide my entire career and hobby” overnight and in their sleep.
And then the government threatens Facebook to hand over messages from any user suspected of woodworking, and then they get persecuted and arrested
The government threatens Google to hand over all browser history from suspected woodworkers, Apple for all iCloud photos from suspected woodworkers, Amazon for all woodworking related purchases
It goes on
If the carpenter cared about privacy from the start, then the government just wouldn’t be able to find them and arrest them for simply woodworking
But the carpenter didn’t care about privacy, they “had nothing to hide” yesterday, so when that law goes into effect tomorrow the government will have a really easy time finding them
Then replace woodworking with abortion and you no longer need to imagine it happening, you can watch it live in 4K.
The more there is known about you, the easier you are to be manipulated.
If you read George Orwell‘s 1984 or watch the Cambridge Analytica documentary on Netflix you get an idea.
Honestly, sometimes my best answer is “none of your business”. Its none of Google’s business what my hobbies are. The fact that there’s no “harm” in it is irrelevant. I want to be left alone, I should be able to without an advanced knowledge of cyber security.
How confident are you that this stolen private data won’t become a tool against you at some point ? I’m not talking about hackers and impersonators (which are huge problems on their own), but anything you do could be used against you in a fascist regime.
If the records of Jewish people didn’t exist prior to WW2, the Jew extermination wouldn’t have been so easy. To consider that what you do or who you are won’t be something you or your descendants would be oppressed for in the future is a very dangerous bet.
By protecting my privacy I’m not taking any chances, and it’s actually making my life better through not being targeted by ads. Why would I do things differently?
When other people are at your house, why do you close the door to the bathroom when you are pooping?
“You can’t see anyone watching you” Why not just close your eyes, you won’t see your house guests watching you poop.
tbh I do it for their benefit lol
“Can’t you just ignore the ads?” No. No you can’t. Ads aren’t tucked away in the corner of a page, waiting for your focus. They are invasive and built solely to attract attention; even compete for it. So no, you can’t ignore them anymore than you can ignore a 3y old wailing 3 ft from your ear.
Information is power. And someone will exploit it. That’s human nature. Create an innocuous database of how high people can jump and that data will be exploited. Somehow. Someone will use it for their own gains. Does that fundamentally hurt you? Maybe. Maybe not. But there is always a risk of having information put to nefarious use.
Best to just never get there as a society.
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Thanks, Confetti, our service unfortunately doesn’t agree so we know specifically what you jack off to and we’re sending that to Walmart because they know that people who jack off to the same things you do also really like Tide® Brand Detergent. When you bought your Home SecuriCam you did consent to being recorded (it says inside of the box that by opening the box you consented to said recording) so we’re taking all of that data. We’ve let our closest 903 partners know that you seem to be developing some chafing, so you’re welcome for that we’ve already added itch cream to your Amazon shopping list. We also noticed that you have a small mole under the left buttock, and based on data we’ve collected from our leading system, so we’ve passed that on to our partners at InsuriCorp (an eCorp subsidiary) who’ve declined to continue your coverage. Our AI has also decided that the footage you’ve provided voluntarily will make for an excellent education campaign, so ads showing your face and ass will be shown on major metros round the clock, with a slight disclaimer that we definitely don’t endorse the material you jack off to.
If your data is available to the public, people can also learn your behaviour, likes and dislikes. From that information
- Authorities can coerce you to do something you do not want to do (like make a false claim) because if you don’t they can use your dislikes and deny your likes to make you suffer until you relent
- Advertisers can push advertisements of things you like and make you spend a lot more
- Thieves will know when is the most likely time that you and your family be at home and break in during those times
For me, it’s identity theft.
Imagine an insurance company using data about you that it purchased from FB or Twitter to give you different insurance rates.
Or your social posts or posts tagged of you affecting your credit score or job application or even your rent application.
There are so many scenarios where having your privacy respected would protect you from unnecessary and unfair judgement.
Nice try, Zuckerberg.
I am not a product for these corporations to sell.
I just came across this link on social cooling from another post a few days ago. The amount of information that can be gathered on you is frightening. I just want to be able to control my own data rather than it being taken from me.
Edit: This was also a super interesting read on what privacy actually is as a concept as well as analyzing the social balance of privacy and security.
