I have neither time, resources nor know-how to like go all out on data privacy. But I try doing things like using Proton for Mail, browsing with DuckDuckGo or Ecosia, messaging on Signal instead of WhatsApp, etc.
But I’m having a hard time responding to people who say “why do you do that, it’s completely pointless since companies like Google have all of our data anyways unless we go all out, and nobody has time for all the effort that takes”.
Ask to see their bank account transactions.
If the data is out there then they should have no problem showing you.
The police have a pretty low hanging bar to getting banking information and the police often seem to ignore the laws for the privileges of using their badges as leverage over private industry and companies. And they use that banking access to fuck with people that don’t like them.
That shit is not “private.”
But banks/credit unions/companies would rather sell you twice than tell you that.
Well, knowing banking information is different from getting their password. One is info like balance and details while the other allows me to transfer all your money.
“Privacy is dead” only once you lose all legal rights to your own information. It may be “already out there”, but at least you still have some legal recourse for when your information is being used by a 3rd party, without your consent. (or at least it should)
No one should have the right to just clone your identity, or make AI images in your likeness, or even sell your confidential information to advertisers, against your wishes. If there aren’t laws already protecting your rights in that regard, where you live…there should be.
Please give me you bank account password, it’s all out there anyway.
I’ve had moderate success by using a handful of quotes over the years whenever this topic comes up with friends or family.
“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.” - Edward Snowden
This quote can substitute out the “free speech” bit for “gun rights” if you are talking to a gun nut.
“I like to close the bathroom door when I’m taking a shower. It doesn’t mean I’m doing anything immoral in there, I just have the right to privacy.” - Anonymous
A fair followup question when they say “why bother, it’s pointless anyway,” that might provoke some thought on their part is: “Do you ever make any effort at all toward a goal that is ultimately a drop in the bucket? Have you ever recycled a single plastic bottle? Covered the PIN pad when entering your PIN number at an ATM? Walked to the store instead of driven? Written a letter to a congressman? If so, why? The overall effect of your action was probably negligibly small in the grand scheme of things, so why did you bother to put any effort in at all?”
The answer to that question is: just because you can’t get to 100% privacy/eco-friendliness/whatever goal it is you have, doesn’t mean you can’t put in some degree of effort to protect your rights, the earth, or hold your government accountable.
They don’t have to ditch Google entirely in one day. That’s ludicrously hard and even privacy advocates like myself can’t do it easily. You take incremental steps when you are ready. Ditch Chrome when you have the bandwidth and get Firefox. Ditch Google search in favor of DuckDuckGo when you think you can deal with the different experiences. etc, etc. Everyone’s journey is different.
Tell them about surveillance pricing. It’s a good example because the information “already out there” is used to influence how much the stuff they buy costs. Another example would be unsecure home security/doorbell cameras that anyone on the internet can watch (if you know where to find them). Their camera feeds are “already out there”, so ask them if that’s ok.
I’m currently fighting my city over flock cameras and I’m hearing this a lot. More people should care about privacy.
Give me your debit card pin.
No, it’s not “all out there”.
I use Google, and they have data about me, and while it’s a lot through Android, settings limit quite a bit what they may do, collect, connect, and reuse. And partly because they have this significant information and control, I make a deliberate effort to not use their email. Email gives a lot more insight, attack surface (technically and through knowledge) and control (almost every service or their uses email in one way or another).
Email is so central, I don’t want to depend on a free service by a huge impersonal/dehuman corp. My phone has data even without Google. I could migrate. With email, migrating data is possible with caveats, but changing the address on all services I use is infeasible.
Ultimately, is a matter of dependence, risk, and convenience. If they’re fine with the risks, that’s on them. Most people are not as poweruser or caring. And that’s fine by me - I can’t and don’t want to invest into wasted effort beyond where appropriate and voicing or offering to a degree.
If you don’t want people to see it maybe you shouldn’t be doing it anyways.
“…If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place…” Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO.
There are plenty of potential embarrassing, but completely legal activities, that people have a right to do.
People have a right to do this but should they is the better question.
100% they should. Live your dream, Science Team.
