I have nothing to hide!
It’s not about having nothing to hide, it’s about having the right to decide who gets access to our data.
Data collected about you is out there forever, and you don’t know how it will be used in the future. Anything you type into AI can be saved by those companies and used against you later. The more information about ourselves we give away, the easier it is for scammers, hackers, and governments to target us. You may not always fit inside society’s norms. What may be legal today (e.g., abortion, dissent) might be illegal tomorrow, and then the government can come after you for it.
Also, your data puts others at risk. Any information leaked on insecure platforms can put others in danger. If you download an app that requests access to all your contacts, you may not care about sharing that data, but people in your contacts list might.
They have all my information anyway.
It’s not about you. Whistle blowers, human rights activists, investigative journalists, all need privacy to do their work safely. When people know they're being watched, they censor themselves. We stop questioning things or sharing dissenting opinions. People hesitate to innovate when they fear their actions are being watched. Think of China or Russia – we could be next. If you’re lucky enough to feel comfortable existing within the norms that society has forced upon us, then you’ve not been in a situation where losing privacy could mean your life.
We need these services to track and find criminals.
Surveillance isn’t about criminals. The tools may start with criminals, but eventually anyone who challenges the status quo is targeted. Privacy isn't about hiding, it's about protecting your rights, your choices, and your future.
