[orthecreedence]

Possible scenario: you are chatting with a friend about how you bought bitcoin at 300 and sold at 500, making 6000USD on the trade. Your money is in an offshore exchange. Next year, you receive a bill from the IRS wanting their cut of the $6000. How did they know? You never pulled out your money.

Well, the NSA gave them a tip.

Now imagine you're running for public office and your opponents will pay top dollar for dirt on you. Imagine that one day you're at odds with your government and they'll use every piece of information they can to prosecute you.

Privacy from one's government and those who control/buy into it is something that nobody needs until they do.

That doesn't mean you can't have a public life as well. But why give out more than you need to?

[josho]

I like your example, but it is also why a lot of folks don't care so much about privacy. Ie. in the scenario there was an illegal hiding of revenue from the IRS. The privacy infringement simply corrected a wrong. So, for many folks they remain unconvinced because they aren't doing anything wrong, so they feel they have nothing to hide, and don't take issue.

Perhaps, a better scenario is that you are chatting with a fellow entrepreneur about bitcoin, a short while later they are charged by the IRS for tax evasion. Meanwhile, your conversation with them on the subject is discovered through the NSA machinery and is used to kick off an investigation against you.

I wish I had a better example, as that would serve us well to educate folks on the value of privacy. I'm writing in part that someone has a better example to share.

[orthecreedence]

You're right, it's a tricky line to walk.

When not citing technology-focused issues, I like to use the bathroom example: "Would you use a public bathroom with glass walls?" It illustrates the difference between covering up wrongdoing and need for personal privacy, two entirely different things.