Data privacy: how to counter the "I have nothing to hide" argument? - eviltoast

I know data privacy is important and I know that big corporations like Meta became powerful enough to even manipulate elections using our data.

But, when I talk to people in general, most seem to not worry because they “have nothing to hide”, and most are only worried about their passwords, banking apps and not much else.

So, why should people worry about data privacy even if they have “nothing to hide”?

  • redditcuntsz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    1 year ago

    I couldn’t care less if a few photos leaked. Nobody in my community would care, if they did I wouldn’t care about them, and blackmail risk it’s far overblown especially within the context of photos. You are far more likely to be exposed by an angry partner. Being afraid that Google had a rouge dick pic that might leak with thousands of others is absurd.

    • ghostwolf@lemmy.fakeplastictrees.eeEnglish
      7·
      1 year ago

      You’re simplifying the issue down to a set of abstract photos that you claim not to care about, ignoring the broader implications. This tells me that you may not fully understand the complexity of our world, the ease with which you can be manipulated, and the potential consequences of such manipulation. The irony lies in the fact that you are essentially replacing my argument:

      Knowing your traits and preferences allows one to tailor a persuasive message specifically to you. This strategy can be used to sell you anything, from a mobile phone to a politician. The implications of such tactics are significant, potentially affecting billions of people.

      With your own:

      Being afraid that Google had a rouge dick pic that might leak with thousands of others is absurd.

      Then declaring it absurd. But in fact, it was your argument, not mine, that you characterized as such :)

      • redditcuntsz@lemmy.worldEnglish
        26·
        1 year ago

        👌👍 in just a poor confused boy who really doesn’t understand the datalake and pressing systems he builds.

        It never amazes me the ability of privacy advocates to just ignore what people care about and then go on to patronize someone by then just saying they don’t understand.

        • ghostwolf@lemmy.fakeplastictrees.eeEnglish
          6·
          1 year ago

          Given that you completely ignore my arguments and replace my thesis with your, I’m inclined to think that you don’t understand all implications and potential consequences. It’s not like you’ve managed to disprove my point. You simply ignored it.

          Moreover, the fact that you don’t care about privacy doesn’t mean that your data can’t be used against you. It can be used, it is being used and it will be used in the future.