[harry8]

The misguided who say they don’t need privacy suddenly have a dense memory of the thousands of times they’ve turned the lock on a bathroom door and consider the idea of deficating in full view as an alternative.

The meaning is to highlight the incredible silliness of the “nothing to hide” skawkers who sound like so many Soviet propagandists.

[fsflover]

This is completely missing the point of why one needs privacy. Lack of it harms journalism and activism, making the government too powerful and not accountable. If only activists and journalists will try to have the privacy, it will be much easier to target them. Everyone should have privacy to protect them. Thus is what Snowden probably meant, not bathrooms.

[harry8]

If you think the benefit of privacy to society and individuals is limited to activists, jounrnalists and providing them cover you might have missed the point yourself. The sheer number of distinct benefits flowing from privacy make the "nothing to hide" argument utterly absurd to anyone capable of thought.

[fsflover]

What are other benefits for people who don't really care? I could never convince such people of the importance of privacy.

[harry8]

Democracy depends on a secret ballot. Start there.

Then move on to the fact that not every govt employee is honest. Some will be involved in organised crime. What about your family do you not want organised crime to know? Do you trust everyone in the government who might encounter you today? Do you trust everyone who might encounter you next year? In 10 years time? 20 years? Gotta trust them all!

The rule of law exists, in part, so that the strongest does not always get their way. Do you trust your insurance company and their outsourced contractors with knowing everything about your family when they refuse to pay your legitimate claim and you have to go to court? They have vastly more resources than you already.

There's plenty more, think them through.

By the time you have it that these people who don't care, they also don't want to be naked in the street or have their children be naked in public, do want freedom and democracy rather than soviet style tyranny, and don't want to be effectively targeted by criminals... If you need to continue, it's a lost cause and you're dealing with bad faith or total un-fixable idiocy.

[fsflover]

Thank you, good list.

[harry8]

Very far from exhaustive.