The End of Privacy

[ctimrun]

I find myself on the other side of this issue than most. In a vast and unnavigable sea of possibilities, I appreciate things are tailored to my interests. I would miss out on a lot if things weren’t focused based on my browsing history, and I’d rather not be inundated with things I have no interest in ala advertising waterspout. And the Internet has to be monetized; otherwise, we wouldn’t have nearly the services existing today. Entities aren’t going to provide them simply out of kindness.

I also believe, and I understand how polarizing this is, there should be no anonymity. It is estimated cybercrime will cost us $6 TRILLION by 2021. That, coupled with proliferation of wares sold on the dark net, and ease of secure communications by malicious actors, should concern us all.

For those who portend 1984-like control and manipulation, I would submit, citing recent elections around the world, we’re already there. And those efforts are made all the more easy via anonymity. Unfettered manipulation of the masses is the most dangerous thing and has lead to the most disturbing episodes in our history.

There’s an obvious line between tailored advertising and government surveillance, and that line should be maintained if not bolstered. Ultimately, though, if you aren’t doing anything wrong you shouldn’t mind a bit of scrutiny.

It is said you can have security, privacy, and convenience; but only two at a time. The Internet is the ultimate convenience. If you want it to be secure, privacy is the price, period.

[rodia77]

Twitter Removes Privacy Option, and Shows Why We Need Strong Privacy Laws: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/0...g-privacy-laws

[rodia77]

Good news for a change, go Germany!
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/face...trust-germany/

[Sedi]

I set my FB-profile to inactive a few days ago. Haven't used it since the covid outbreak because of all the conspiracy theories. But what I think is even more worrying than the data collection is the algorithms that for example can connect people sharing similar radical ideas. That is what happens with the fast radicalization of online extremists quite a lot. And so far FB hasn't done much to stop that practice. So they more or less profit from the encouragement of criminal associations, which then often switch to more private and inaccesible networks after they have been brought together by FB's algorithms. I think we have reached a point where FB does more harm than good. They also continously violate European privacy laws that state that you need to be able to use FB without giving them your real name. I was registered under an alias for a long time until they forced me to use my real name, which was another factor in deciding not to use it anymore. The thing is -- I don't want to be found by "old friends". In most cases, I am glad I don't see all those people anymore that I know from high school, etc.

[rodia77]

Tim Berners-Lee* startup launches privacy-focused service to secure your data: https://www.cnet.com/news/tim-berner...ure-your-data/

*the inventor of WWW

Edit: another article in BI: https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-...launch-2020-11

[rodia77]

Brexit: US firms to gain access to Britons’ personal data via Japan trade deal, campaigners warn: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b1720360.html

[rodia77]

Hello, Apple users!
https://sneak.berlin/20201112/your-computer-isnt-yours/

[Perseus]

We've only seen a peak behind the curtain with these social media companies. Now that social media sites are openly engaging in censorship, it's time for some serious transparency and privacy laws.

[rodia77]

US Defense Intelligence Agency admits to buying citizens’ location data: https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/22/2...-location-data

[Spooky]

I've chosen to frustrate big tech by going low tech.

I see a new generation of luddites on the horizon.