To be clear, I don’t subscribe to the idea of “Nothing to Hide.” It’s a bullshit argument. The reason why I’m asking this is because I want to be able to explain why it’s bullshit. I don’t like the fact that many people, including ones in my family, are willing giving up their right to privacy simply because they’ve become accustomed to convenience that modern technology has afforded them. I, myself, have been guilty of these but I’m actively taking steps to take back my privacy and potentially help others as well.
Bonus question: Many people will retort with things “Do you want criminals walking our streets?” or bring up an anecdote about how Flock, Ring or any other surveillance companies’ cameras helped solve a crime or found a missing person. Flock themselves have a blog post series called #SolvedStories where they list so-called “success stories” about their cameras solving a case. Of course, I don’t want criminals walking our streets and, sure, those stories might pull my heartstrings but what’s the bigger picture?
Benign things can always be used against you in a court of law by authoritarians. The whole protest = terrorism and donating to liberal causes = funding terrorists for example. Maybe you donated clothing to an organization that aids refugees before. Now you’re liable to get warrants for financing immigration crimes and they can start digging for more and more “evidence” until you either end up bankrupt from legal fees or you crack under the pressure. Everyday people with literally nothing to hide have no recourse once the regime sets eyes on you, not to mention shit like following you everywhere and reporting your activities as evidence of flight risk so you can’t bond out.
This is the big one. Not about pants or bathrooms or passwords. It’s about whether you want the government or corporations to know personal details that can later be used against you. Are you religious? Jewish? What’s your ethnicity? National origin? Could any of those be used to target you? Maybe you have been seeing a therapist or counselor, what’s that about? Are you depressed, suicidal? Did you cheat on your wife and now you’re in couples therapy? Do you have a drug, gambling, or alcohol problem, or other addiction? Maybe you were just a dumb kid and did something stupid like petty shoplifting?
Everyone has something to hide, even if it’s not a bad thing. All of those things could be used to target you. Maybe to eliminate you from consideration for a job. Maybe someone searches for your name before a date. Maybe ICE is looking for anyone they can deport to meet their quota.