Why do everyone care about privacy so much?

"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say."

—Snowden

This quote sums it up pretty well.

I know this might feel sort of dated, but census information is how the Nazis were able to so efficiently grab Jews, homosexuals and other minorities. Once your information is out there, it's out there forever, and you can't guarantee how it will be used.

If the service is free the product is probably you. I think people are generally 'fine' with the normal data they share getting packaged and sold for normal advertising purchases. But then users look at Cambridge Analytica and Facebook and even though they share something like "I voted" they're upset at the attempts of third parties to use it for electioneering purposes.

Additionally, some data users erroneously expect will be kept from third parties. Gindr users were shocked to find out their HIV statuses were shared with third parties, for example. Or what happens when 23 and Me sells genetics information and some dictator uses it as a predicate to murder a bunch of people in the name of eugenics?

The real issue is: are these companies capable of self-policing or is there need for a regulatory scheme to be implemented in how your data is handled? We keep seeing efforts at the latter which is starting to result in a fractured Internet of competing markets and competing privacy regulations.

For the longest time I sorta halfassed agreed with the "if you have nothing to hide..." argument. I knew that the data falling into the wrong hands could be bad, but I always sorta assumed the government will always be filled with non-evil people.

After watching the movie The Lives of Others, I changed my opinion. I never fully considered what an evil government could do with such info. There's absolutely zero guarantee that a future government will not be evil, yet they will inherit control of this data. From there, anything you've ever said or done could be made illegal in the future. Associating with the wrong people, for any reason, could put your every move under scrutiny.

There's a good talk called Don't Talk to the Police where a law professor and a cop both lay out in clear terms that you are very likely doing something illegal every single day. That no one, even the government itself, knows how many laws there are, and you have absolutely no idea what crimes you're implicating yourself of every waking moment.

Given every single detail about your life, there's virtually zero chance that in a given day you can't be arrested for something. If the government were evil and wanted to come after you, you can be charged today for something you did today, under current law, even if you "have nothing to hide". That's fucking scary.

"google just uses it to serve me personalized ads"

You don't know that.

Because I’m not comfortable with a company knowing me better than I know myself. I don’t care for personalized ads (they’re kinda creepy, plus I block all ads anyway), I don’t care much for Google’s personalized services. I do care about them scanning through every email, constantly recording my location, building a profile of my interests with my search history, etc.

Just because I have nothing to hide doesn’t mean I want to let Google, Facebook, etc. keep a creepily detailed profile on me. I understand it’s a trade off (my privacy for their services), but I value the former far too much.

I’ve managed to de-google my life almost completely, except for Youtube and search (tried DDG for a year, just ended up banging google into every search because the results were so much better).

Because not all services use your information properly. Facebook practically gave out information for anyone to use. While I don't mind some companies having my information (specifically if they're using this information to better their server for me, not just for advertisers), I do mind someone collecting more information they need to sell to advertisers.

Some people are way more passionate about security than I am, so I'm not going to give as detailed of an answer as they are. But as long as the company keeps my information between them and me, I'm good.

If the wrong people get access to the information they've collected on you it can be used in a very negative way. Plus why do we need a reason to care about privacy?

The constant argument I see is that "Well just because you have nothing to hide doesn't mean you shouldn't want privacy". But that isn't the issue at all. I have plenty I don't want others knowing even if it isn't illegal. But the fact of the matter is unless you are VERY cautious and willing to forego LOTS of basic conveniences (google maps, any search engine, good browsers, most programs, almost all websites, all social media, most modern phones, laptops, etc.) you are going to have to give up privacy. It's a compromise.

What I do care about, and what EVERYONE should care about is what happens to the data after it is collected. What companies get to see it, how locked down is it, what are their security practices, where else does it go (other companies? selling data? ads?) and of course how does it benefit me. These services are great but they also allow more tailored ads, easier search, suggestions about what you want based on searches, customized playlists and browsing lists, etc. The product is your data but it is also used to benefit you and make your life easier.

Thus, the security practices of all companies are paramount in considering privacy because whether you like it or not they're going to have it except if you are the most careful and remote person ever, and even then... So it's better to ensure they are handling it correctly rather than trying not to let them handle it at all.

Ultimately I think that there's a difference between using data that's personal and breaching privacy. For example, I'm totally okay with the google maps app using my phone's GPS to determine my current location. What I'm not okay with is google maps secretly sneaking away that location information and giving it back to google the company. That's a breach of privacy.

I get that there's nothing illegal that you may be doing. However, what if your personal data was saved well enough that it could be used against you in the future when social mores have changed? What if in 20 years watching porn is akin to armed robbery, and while you're trying to go for an elected office Google just happens to leak information about your porn habits 20 years ago in order to affect the election's outcome?

Personal data can be used to control people - both literally that individual and people in general - so it makes sense to be wary of anyone who wishes to amass lots of personal data.

A lot of people are skipping over an important point. Maybe the service you think you are giving your information to is, for the most part, harmless. But what happens when that information is stolen? Who gets your information then? What is it used for?

We've seen some of this with comments posted on the FCC website. Identities can be used online to make it look like you're doing something your not. That could have large consequences. Imagine you decide to run for office and someone digs up that 'you' (someone pretending to be you) spoke up against net neutrality. Imagine your wife Googles your name and finds out that 'you' are signed up to multiple online dating services, or the government thinks 'you' are funneling money to a terrorist organization.

Even if your identity isn't taken, a lot of the pieces of information you give to google can be used to determine the unknown fragments. The same information that advertisers use to build a picture of you for harmless purposes can be used for harmful purposes as well.

As long as it stays with Google, it's a relatively low risk. But it doesn't stay with Google. That's the concern.

Some of us are (rightfully, but of course I would say that, as I fall into this group—yet this admission convinces me no less of my being right) suspicious of the motives companies and governments have for keeping such close tabs on consumers and citizens. It's not just a question of whether we've done anything wrong; most of us haven't. What is relevant is the question of whether we want to allow such already-powerful entities even more power—and whether they have a right to it and to our private information in the first place. And it's a question of what they'll be able to do with that greater power should they decide (and, in my view, it's an inevitable decision) to use it against us.

(edit:rephrased)The reason many people don't understand the significance of privacy is usually two-fold:
First, outside European civil laws countries the concept of the right to privacy is very shallowly codified and enforced; thus the topic isn't taught or debated extensively either. Among the average citizen there is often little awareness of the entire scope of privacy, which for the most part, it should be your fundamental, inalienable right to remain in control of.

Second, the consequences of breaches to privacy rarely materialize in a perceptibly relatable form. Not only, by nature you do not discuss related issues unless they end up on public record, the most important ramifications affect the societal rights, norms and development a lot more more than individuals directly.
It's a bit similar to discrimination. If you haven't experienced or properly studied this matter, you will have trouble perceiving, conceptualizing, and internalizing how the experience affects both the victims; but you also miss what it eventually does to society before it is too late.

To simplify, privacy corresponds to control, as other civil rights similarly do.

Tracking, for instance, stands for recording and profiling someone's behavior, expressions, thoughts, etc. A search engine history or browsing behavior is much more a part of thoughts than it is an instance of speech.
So if you do not have the right to control how that information is observed and accessed, it may eventually be used to control you; whether control means to learn how to make you believe a certain story, to make you buy something, to adapt your insurance premiums, to not employ you for a particular position, to make a case against you in court, to not let you into a country.

In the US, the law is more concerned about ownership and usually you do not that right over the collected data. So tracking data can be shared, third-parties can collect it from multiple sources, and eventually identify and build a profile on you, which can be used in the above mentioned examples.

I think that data mining is a good thing —provided the user consents to it.

Google actually has a pretty decent model. They give you a whole page of privacy settings, and you have control over your data...at least it looks that way. I have no idea what happens to the stuff they suck up with Google Analytics.

Now, data is a double edged sword, it can be used for good, or bad.

Google tracks where you physically are - why are some people so much against it?

It’s not necessarily bad, as you said, personalized ads, but imagine if Google suffered a data breach. Would you be comfortable with your location data being leaked for all to see? Imagine what stalkers could do.

Google collects a shit ton of stuff. Now, if you trust Google to secure what they. collect (which I do), and think that they don’t intend to do anything malicious with it, then sure, there’s no problem with Google. The advantages (personalized ads, Android, Google stuff) probably outweigh the potential disadvantages (far future data breaches, Larry Page turning evil, etc.)

Compared to Microsoft and (shudder) Facebook, I don’t think Google is that bad.

Others have captured the general idea that or privacy should be ours despite companies claiming to use it for “harmless” ads. I really started to tighten up my security when this administration took place because I’m a sometimes/sometimes not protected minority that gets targeted by them. So, there’s some privledge to not having to worry so much about what Facebook might know.

My opinion on privacy and internet tracking is that you're the product using the service to the company. For internet companies, their profiting off of not your wallet, but your personality and behavior.

Adam Ruins Everything talked about this in one of the segments in "Adam Ruins the Internet" where it shows just how deep the privacy breaches go with Facebook, and Google. At the end of the clip, he says that Facebook's information for you is worth just $12.00. "Your interests, your personality, your relationships, your privacy. Those things are priceless. But you gave them all away just to avoid paying twelve dollars." The clip can be found here.

Why shouldn't you?