[oska]

> Beyond the HackerNews crowd, most people don't care about privacy.

I really do not agree with this often-made assertion. The main difference between the HN crowd and the general public is that we are more likely to understand how, and how extensively, our privacy is being compromised. We are used to considering computer logs and monitoring as very real (because we work with them / create them); the general public not nearly so much.

[GordonS]

To a point, I agree, but there are still a large number of people that understand how their privacy is being invaded, and simply don't give a shit.

Why? Some don't believe these invasions negatively impact them personally. But I think, largely, it's about misplaced (IMO) trust - they trust Facebook et al not to abuse their privacy or "do anything evil", and perhaps worse, they trust all organs of the government completely and totally. Any suggestion otherwise is waved away as "who cares?", or dismissed as a conspiracy theory (yes, even post-Snowden).

Large sections of the media are certainly part of the problem too (as we are seeing for so many things) - some serious, privacy-related stories are either not covered at all, or covered with pretty blatant, extreme bias.

[npteljes]

Unfortunately this doesn't explain why my circle of colleagues, at a major tech company, also don't care actively about this stuff. My take: these privacy violations get accepted because there is immediate positive feedback, and the negative stuff is delayed, misattributed, or never felt at all.

[oska]

I agree with your take.

And I'm not saying that all people who work with IT are going to be protective of their privacy. Just saying that they are more likely to have an informed understanding of the mechanics of computer monitoring/tracking from which to develop possible concerns.

[jamil7]

Agreed, I see the topic come up more and more among friend groups with many of them not working tech. I’m starting to see topics on privacy pop up in mainstream media more too.