Just came up with my father again.
He blames me that mother forgot her phone’s and Google password because I recommended against it being a word.
I mentioned encryption, “not necessary unless you’re doing something illegal”.
When mentioning lack of privacy with targeted advertisements, he said that he actually really likes them, because he bought a couple of things he wanted for years.
I don’t really have good arguments.
“Why do you shit with the door closed? What are you doing there, drugs?”
While targeted advertisements may be nice because it’s only showing you things that they think that you’ll want/need/like, the other side of surveillance based advertising is surveillance pricing.
Surveillance pricing analyzes massive troves of your personal information to predict the price you would be willing to pay for an item—and charge you accordingly. Retailers can charge a higher price when it thinks you can afford to spend more—on payday, for example. Or when you need something the most, such as in an emergency.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/08/fight-surveillance-pricing-we-need-privacy-first
Something you don’t need to hide today may be something you need to hide tomorrow. And there’s no going back.
It is sadly something that some people will never understand. You could question why he does the things he does (closing curtains, using envelopes for letters instead of just using a postcard, having a password at all), but that would likely just make him feel attacked.
I don’t have anything to hide does not imply that anyone needs to know. Not you, not a neighbor, not the internet, and absolutely not the government.
He said “illegal” but the word should be “wrong” and YOU don’t get to decide what’s wrong. THEY could decide you’re wrong for having blue eyes or, I don’t know, not liking TACO.
Tell him that you’ve installed a keylogger on all of his devices and will be listening in on all of his phone calls and reading everything that he types into all of his devices going forward. See how he reacts.
Gotta also point out, if they were things he ‘wanted for years,’ he already knew about them, knew he wanted them, and would have bought them. The ads were of no value in that situation.
But the big thing I have to question in this is, does this person have anyone they care about? It’s not all about them. Do they want those they love to be tracked and manipulated based on the data? Would they be comfortable with a system that tracked their daughter’s menstrual cycle based on the data they collected? If so, would they still be okay with it if the companies used that data to push unhealthy options on her when she’s being hit with PMT and feels like shit? What if the ad space was bought by a group who wanted to push her into a religion? Or an abortion? Or a political position they disagree with?
And let’s say they don’t have any problem with the people who they know have access to it now. Do they think the people who have it now will be unwilling to sell it? Is there someone out there they wouldn’t be comfortable with having access to their data? Because basically anyone can buy info from a data broker. Would they like it if their porn history was shared with potential employers? Or their health history? Even if they don’t put in anything they aren’t comfortable sharing, do they think no one else might put in info they don’t want shared? What about just plain misinformation? Do they want the data on them to be available to employers after someone with a grudge has had a chance to order BDSM gear in their name and create a profile for them on a fetish site or twenty? How about someone with no grudge, just who taps into his wifi because he hasn’t updated his security firmware in a bit? And all that info would be delivered to anyone who asks and is willing to pay <$20. He’ll never be told, ‘you didn’t get the job/loan/invite because of what we found on you.’ It’ll just be a silent wall between them and the other things they want, just because they liked that one time the company, which didn’t actually care what he wants, convinced him to buy something he would have bought anyway and spent the rest of the time selling access to him and his information, benefitting him not at all.
“Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety.”
Yet
By changing the framing. Ask about how he’ll feel when (not if) a bad actor gets his info? Steals his identity? Opens a credit card. Takes out a loan. Tanks his credit. His info is all right there conveniently compiled by unknown entities and data gets breached all the time. Enter his info into a website like https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and show him just how many times his data has already been compromised without his knowledge. Point out data security isn’t JUST about privacy it’s about DATA SAFETY.
“take of your pants.”
I may be ill and want to keep it from my family and work for as long as possible in order to complete and prepare some things. Privacy should exist for all under this type of scenario but it should not overpower the publics right to know when the public is affected (example…possible pedophiles or sex ring at the top levels of government).
2 big things for me.
First is that everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone has something they want to hide. People assume “I’m not a violent person or a criminal” except yes you are, and you’ve done something. A great example is everyone in the US speeds, absolutely everyone. Does that mean you want every office to know every instance of you speeding if you get pulled over? So, yes everyone has something they’d rather not say.
Second is more of an example of you should be allowed to go places without everyone knowing. The example was about 5 years ago police used location data to find a person who broke into someone’s home. Problem is that the location data they used returned one person who happened to be on that street around the same time. They were riding their bike down the street. To the police they had the person there, they had proof, it was good enough. Except it wasn’t, and he obviously wasn’t the person they were looking for. Location data put him there though, and sold him out. So maybe not the best thing for whoever to know exactly where you are at any given time.
As for encryption, ask him for his porn history. If he gets upset, just say “why it’s not illegal”
but, I agree with the other person. If you’re dad is like mine and countless others, you’re not fighting against him but propaganda. If that’s the case, you aren’t going to win this. The only winning is turning off the source.
I wouldn’t say everyone speeds as not everyone even drives. The biggest thing for me is that even if you don’t have something you’re ashamed of it could still be something you could be targeted for, like political views, disability or gender identity etc.
If I was to answer that type of argument, I would consider those:
- why do you close the door of the bathroom when you use it?
- Can I watch you fuck?
- Show me your last income declaration
- Give me your credit card
- Why do you wear clothing?
- Why do you lock the door of the house?
but I tend to ignore people using the “I have nothing to hide” argument
Also: why does your wife, mom, daughter close the bathroom door? Do you watch your mom or daughter fuck?
That persons opinion of privacy would affect other people too.
I just be direct.
The people making this argument have already built an implicit stage in their mind where they’re talking about when authority is trying to investigate you for being “one of the bad ones.”
They’re not “counting” personal privacy in this context like modesty and personal private space.
I just say “Because when the long arc of history swings the other way like it has for thousands of years, do you want your scary, blue-haired antifa boogymen to have the power to investigate you and your personal life and habits?”
If it’s a male conservative, you can have great success with “So if someone says they need to check your hard drive for every image and video you’ve ever looked at, you’re fine with that? I know a guy who can immediately restore every file you’ve ever deleted.”
Sometimes they turn white.
