To most it's not even a question. Of course they assume they have the right to secure their data via encryption.
But not all agree on this. There are lawmakers and law enforcement people around the globe that argue that a strong "unbreakable" encryption helps criminals and that law abiding people shouldn't be afraid of "officials" getting their hands on the data of everybody.
Why is this argument flawed you might ask?
The simple answer to this is control! Control over you! Your data can and will be used to anticipate the "digital you". Your digital profile will be used to manipulate you, "foresee" your actions in the future and make assumptions what you thing and what you might vote for.
You can see this happening in real time with "expert systems" and AI systems that get better by the hour in suggesting new things to purchase, things to read, things to get upset of and so on.
Just a few years back this digital profiling tech seemed crude and not very accurate but these things have evolved to pretty effective marketing boosters and digital influencers.
People that are aware of these things have accepted this as the status quo. But this means that their freedom has already been tackled. They have to be very aware of every step they take irl (in real life) and online to not mess with their digital standing.
Like it happens to many with credit rating agencies. You don't want to mess with your "credit worthiness" and "credit scoring" because a bad score does not only influence if you can get a credit if you need one but how high your interest will be and if you're qualified to get the newest smart phone or whatever you have layd your eyes on and you want to pay "in only 12 little payments" and so on.
Others might use this data to generate an overall "social scoring system" that can be used to define levels to all interaction aspects of your life.
Are you a "good" consumer that obeys the laws, doesn't rock the boat in social and political exchanges and that shows mainstream conformity with everything and everybody?
Or must you be trained to obey those in economical and political - is their even a difference nowadays ??? - power?
The possibilities for misuse of such digital powers and nearly limitless. Those who have control over your data can make or bust your digital profile to fit their agenda. You're a none compliant thinker and speaker? How about bashing you into conformity be limiting your online and irl reach and even travel possibilities?
What might an insurance company do with in depth information about you out of your digital profile? Are their any risks for them they want to steer clear of or reflect in the next insurance deal they offer you?
The more they learn about you, your friends and family the more they extend the power not only over you but over all of us!
That's the tricky thing with privacy! It's not enough that you watch your own steps very closely!
If you yourself are aware of the possible negative implications of lost privacy and you act accordingly that's probably enough to make some red flags come up that maybe used to look a little closer into you and your environment. If any of your friends and family "drop the privacy ball" with the excuses they've been trained to use like "I have nothing to hide..." that's an vector right there to learn about you via others.
Think about it! The more people exercise their rights to their privacy the more people can do the same without sticking out.
I could go on for hours about all the possible negative things that can happen around not caring about your privacy and it's not just about pin point accuracy manipulating you into your next purchase.
With digital profiling tools, often AI powered, getting better every second every little bit of intelligence that is gathered about you can and will be used against you in some point of time!
Even if some of the data that is collected about you can't put to "use" right away maybe tomorrow or in a few years certain online behavior patterns of yours will be enough to make further assumptions about you.
Even the way you walk can be used to gain knowledge about your health and physical fitness. This works today already! Now think about what they can do tomorrow!
Check out this article here from Sophos Naked Security about the battle for the right to encrypt!
...and for those who are standing at the entrance of the privacy rabbit hole, maybe checkout this -> https://whyprivacymatters.org/
What is your stance on your privacy? What information are you willing to give up control over and what not and why?
Let me know in the comments and also let me know what you think about this in general or ask away if there's anything you want to ask me about this!
Every comment is highly appreciated by me!
Cheers!
Lucky
The timing of your post is ironic. I am in a data analysis course for part of my Doctorate studies. Every other week we have to pick a bad stat and then write a short two to three-page paper on why we think it is bad. This week's bad stat I chose was published by Sky News on October 11, 2020, titled "Facebook responsible for 94% of 69 million child sex abuse images reported by US tech firms" and written by Tom Gillespie. It discusses the impact of end-to-end encryption on the prevention and pursuit of child predators. It is a very flawed article. I will share my paper sometime later this week, or next.
https://news.sky.com/story/facebook-responsible-for-94-of-69-million-child-sex-abuse-images-reported-by-us-tech-firms-12101357#:~:text=Facebook%20was%20responsible%20for%2094,encryption%20on%20public%20safety%20online.
Looking forward to your article!👍
I will share it in the next week after it is graded.
👍