The Myths of Security

Chapter 42. Privacy

By now, people should have a reasonable expectation that there’s no privacy on the Internet. If you want privacy, you have to read the fine print carefully to find out exactly what privacy has been promised and under what conditions. Most people don’t think about it, and if they do, they don’t care very much.

Many geeks, on the other hand, care a whole lot. Few of them know they’re a tiny minority, though.

I think I’m pretty typical. I would love to have my privacy, but once you get past my personal finances and such (read: I don’t want my money/identity stolen), I really only object at a moral, theoretical level. It’s not a major driver for me, and I’m often willing to sacrifice some privacy for more functionality. I generally would not go out of my way to get more privacy unless I explicitly had something to hide. I almost never have anything to hide.

Most other people seem to feel the same way about it: privacy is nice in theory, but if you don’t have anything to hide, what’s the big deal? Maybe that’s a shame, but it’s the way the world is.