Arguments like, “Well, why do you have clothes on then?” are not effective, because they aren’t equivalent forms of privacy.

There are a couple pieces of media I like to recommend:

• Targeted by Brittany Kaiser - Kaiser being intimately involved in Cambridge Analytica, it outlines how digital record of user behaviour, traits, and engagement can inform agents to which form of manipulation would be most effective on a given person (psychographic analysis), which can then be used by whomever wanted to exert influence (micro-targeting), whether it be on consumer or political preferences.
• The Great Hack is a documentary adaptation of the above story if someone prefers film over text, but the book has more detail of the methods and examples of when it’s been used in the past (alarmingly many political campaigns).
• The Social Dilemma is another documentary that touches on how exploitation of user data drives issues like addiction, radicalization, and depression on social platforms. Just recently, Meta was found to be feeding increased beauty advertising to girls and women who had recently deleted selfies.

Providing real examples of this exploitation is, in my opinion, a more effective argument for promoting online privacy. It nudges people to think, “maybe it would be better if advertising companies didn’t know about my recent (breakup, miscarriage, job loss, promotion, unplanned pregnancy, debt, car accident, birth of a baby, death in the family, deletion of a selfie…).”

Had that conversation at a bar with a smart wise friend. Basically went like this :

• Bob : privacy is important
• Alice : sure, but I have nothing to hide
• Bob : OK, so what’s your salary
• Alice : I don’t mind telling you
• Bob : cool, do you mind if I tell that random stranger?
• Alice : hmmm OK, no problem
• Bob : now do you mind if I sell that information to a stranger?
• Alice : well…
• Bob : and how about I sell it to them but I do not share any of that with you?
• Alice : no, that’s not fair.

TL;DR: privacy, or lack of, isn’t really what triggers people, what does is the abuse of it.

"Your wife has nothing to hide in the shower if she’s a law abiding citizen, which is why I’ll be livestreaming her showers.

Unless…she’s a terrorist?"

What’s not worth hiding today may very well change tomorrow. You never know what moronic laws may come to pass. US example, the war on pregnant women.

My HR told me that: “but I have nothing to hide”, so I asked her to log into her bank account and to show me how much she has in each account, how much she is paid and what she bought in the last 6 months.

She refused, and I reply “but why not?”

That was the end of it.

Saying ‘I don’t care about privacy because I have nothing to hide’ is the same as saying ‘I don’t care about free speech because I have nothing to say’

I’ve had this discussion with friends because I’m the crazy “privacy” person in my peer group. I always have trouble putting it into words, so this might not make the most sense, but I’ll try.

The most fundamental right that we have as humans is the right to present to the world the person that we want to present to the world.

Everybody has something about themselves that, if it were known, would change the way other people look at them. Maybe it’s something silly and stupid like you’re afraid of spiders. Maybe you’re into some really freaky porn. But whatever it is, if you don’t want people to know about it, that’s your right and it’s sacrosanct.

People will say, “who cares if people know that you’re afraid of spiders, it’s a small price to pay if it means that we also catch the people with something illegal to hide, like CSAM or other stuff.”

But what about the battered wife who has been secretly searching for support and planning her escape from the situation on the internet. But she shares a computer with her abusive husband and google, knowing her search history, starts showing him ads about furniture and moving companies?

What about the scared teenager who has realized that he is gay and have parents who would disown him if they found out. When he’s searching for support and fellowship online, the only place where he can feel like he belongs, he can be as careful as he wants, but his search history will eventually betray him before he’s ready to come out himself.

Maybe what you don’t want people to know about is just that you’re afraid of spiders, sure. But what if it’s something far more important.

I ask why they lock the door on the toilet.

They usually splutter about social norms etc and I point out that it’s a social norm they mind their own fucking business about my affairs

As a retired psychotherapist I can tell you, that every single person on this planet has something to hide.

Obviously, psychotherapy offers a safe, private and confidential space to speak about those things. Society does not offer this safe space. So Humans hide things.

Sometimes these hidden things are even hidden from the person.

we have all broken our own, and societies, moral codes, the things we do not share with other people.

Our own sexual preferences are the most hidden of all subjects. Even in this so called Enlightened age. Sexuality still reigns supreme as the most hidden of all subjects.

I always say to people spouting the “I have nothing to hide” argument.

If you have nothing to hide!

Why do you continue to wear clothes when you go out.

Clearly it has nothing to do with the fact that: a CCTV camera on the corner of your street, a camera in a passing car, a RING doorbell facing towards the street, school kids filming with their phones, will film you and intrude upon your private life.

It is because you have something to hide.

For instance: Examples of the things that people hide.

As we see this quite regularly with our politicians and those generally in powerful positions:

The Pro family values political evangelists who espouses that homosexuality is a sin, and then gets caught with a male prostitute.

In psychoanalysis this this called “Splitting”. Its where the politician projects all his hidden, unacceptable parts of himself, in this case his homosexual preferences, and projects them onto other people in society. Those bad bad people who are homosexuals.

Or the pro child protection evangelist politician, who gets caught with gigabytes of child abuse images on their laptop. Same thing.

Its the same with the recent rise in the Right Wing anti-everything brigade;

anti-immigrant, who most likely had a foreign girlfriend when they were young, and are now ashamed of it because their mates are anti-immigrant. Group think.

anti-abortion, probably got a girl pregnant, wasnt man enough to support her, and left her no choice to get an abortion. Misogyny

anti-homosexual, probably a repressed homosexual who fantasises about sex with same sex partners. Far too ashamed to come out.

anti-this anti-that; Oh the shame!

This always speaks more about the hidden belief systems that those people carry. It is not about the people onto whom they are trying to project there own personal stuff.

To be human is to have a private life, and to keep it secret.

Saying you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.

I close the door when I poop.

It’s no secret, and I’m not doing anything wrong, but it’s MY business and nobody else’s.

Then why do they have a lock on their phone? Their house? Why do they wear pants? They already won’t give their phone number or email address to anyone who asks. They already practice privacy.

It’s not about having something to hide, it’s about protecting what you share against misuse. Think identity theft.

I’d ask everyone for their criminal record lol

It’s not about hiding secrets from everyone.

It’s about not authorising the military-industrial complex to have that unjust power over us.

Then give me access to everything, your bank account, your criminal records, your medical records, your digital life, your worklife, and let me record everything you do, everywhere…