Data privacy is crucial.
A privacy data breach that exposes someone’s sexual orientation can have far-reaching effects, including the loss of employment, loss of familial relationships and friendships and even the potential for physical harm or death.
Of course data privacy is important, but I feel like in these cases the problem lies even more with the employer, family or “friends”.
Oh for sure.
I just keep thinking about this case where a woman was arrested for an illegal abortion in Nebraska and their Facebook Messenger chat history being handed over after police got a mandate.
According to a sworn affidavit from Detective Ben McBride of the Norfolk Police Investigations Unit, police started with a tip from a woman who described herself as a friend of Celeste’s who said she saw her take the first pill in April.
The problems may start with the laws in the country. Being gay is a crime punishable with the death penalty in some places, and helping “criminals” hide their crimes (or even just not reporting it) is often a crime as well.
Yeah well no shit. Information alone has never killed anyone. But if information gets people killed, the distinction from their perspective is pretty fuckin’ moot.
“I have nothing to hide” is heavily dependent upon where you live, when you live, maybe future political administrations. People 5 years ago probably thought abortion was no biggy because of Roe V Wade. Now this might be illegal depending where you live. If you’re gay, you would be executed in other countries. Some of us have the privilege of living where it’s safe (for now) to live our lives, not so much in other areas.
Everybody should have privacy by default. People should use Signal, don’t rely on Google and other big tech services either. Google and Meta was found to be supplying location data information of people who were going to abortion clinics to the police (sauce).
Tangentially, see Mike Montiero’s talk, How Designers Destroyed The World. His prime example is Facebook changing everyone’s visibility settings by default… leading at least one closeted lesbian teenager to receive death threats from her own goddamn father.
Malice is not required for these decisions to become catastrophes.
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
