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?


An alternate argument to the “hide” discussion is that by exposing your personal information you give governments and companies the power to manipulate you in very effective ways. The best example to scare people with is algorithmic pricing: companies can figure out how much money you make and automatically charge you more than people who make less money. Or they can figure out when you’re desperate and charge you more because they know you have to pay (e.g. they know you’re about to have another baby and currently have a small car so jack up the interest on a new car loan).
This isn’t scifi, this is currently happening.