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How do you reply to people saying "i have nothing to hide?" (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 days ago by JettuhGlowie@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Whenever i talk to people about privacy, specifically my friends when i tell them why i switched to Signal and stopped using WhatsApp, i'm always met with people saying that i'm just making no sense and "why would you care so much if you have nothing to hide? I don't care that meta sees that stuff" and some people are just so stubborn to understand that they might even settle on the "what would a billion dollar company want from me specifically?". It makes me mad how people refuse to even consider alternatives and open their mind a bit. What do you think?

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[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

A few points:

"I have nothing to hide," means you've accepted the premise that the burden of innocence is on you. That you are guilty until proven innocent. There are a couple millenia of jurisprudence, saying 'innocent until proven guilty' should be the default. The US 5th, 6th, and 14th amendments get close, but they don't just come out and say it.
"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him." This has been attributed to a few people from Cardinal Richelieu to Voltaire. But the crux is, anyone can make someone appear guilty. Doesn't matter if you're innocent. The burden of proof has to be on the accuser, otherwise it's down to chaos, and tyrrany of the powerful and the mob.
Personal privacy by default is one of those fundamental rights that gives us control of a lot of things around us. From freely walking down the street, to our shopping habits, license-plate-readers, location-tracking, who we associate with, and our healthcare.
Imagine if the rules were changed so any time anyone wanted to use our data, including transactions, web and mobile interactions, credit-card, banking, voting, healthcare, whatever... they had to get explicit, single-use permission. How much weight would be lifted from everyone's shoulder. It means you, the individual are in charge.
There's academic data on the psychological effects of surveillance. It has actual effect on one's behavior and mental health: https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2024/1/niae039/7920510
At this point, there are too many privacy leaks. The only reasonable solution is to flip it all on its head. EVERYTHING is private, unless there is a legitimate reason to pierce that veil, and the burden is on those wanting the data.

It'll have financial impacts on many business models. Yes, and? Do better.