My threat model is against mass surveillance. This is one of the hardest threat models to defend against and to justify, because (at least here in the US), mass surveillance has become normalized. I’ve heard people directly tell me that “privacy is weird.” I’m not here to shoot down the Nothing to hide argument literally labelled on Wikipedia as “a logical fallacy,” instead, I want to take my own approach to show just how unnatural mass surveillance is.

Picture this: Your best friend tells you that he heard rumors that someone put cameras in your house and was actively spying on you. That is super creepy, but you brush it off and say that nobody would do that, because who would care that much about you? However, when you get home, you look around and find multiple dozen hidden cameras everywhere. Think about how you’re feeling right now, knowing that you’re being watched. Even though you know that you’re being watched, but have no idea who has been watching you, what they have seen, or how long they’ve been watching you, it’s disillusioning and creepy to find out that what your friend said was true.

Then, you do some digging online and find out that everyone in your neighborhood is also being watched. Oh, it’s fine then, right? Suddenly it’s much better that you’re not alone. No! More surveillance is not a good thing. People fall into the false belief that as long as it’s not targeted surveillance or a personal attack that it’s suddenly fine, that you will just blend in with the noise. Your data is valuable, and spying in any capacity is NOT normal. Remember: The situation never changed, you are still being watched, you just found out that not only you, but everyone around you is also being spied on.

You still have no idea who is watching you, and it’s even worse to find out that it might not just be one person, that anyone can buy this data for cheap. Data like this can be used to stalk you, drain your bank account, read intimate personal texts, rig elections, manipulate you into buying things you never intended to buy, and so much more. This is the state of mass surveillance and it needs to stop. It’s not a conspiracy, the dystopia is today.

Mass surveillance is not normal. Privacy also isn’t normal: it’s a right, instead.

    • The 8232 ProjectOP
      91·
      3 months ago

      “Normal is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from.” - Jodie Foster. This quote is referring to social norms, and how what is truly normal is not what is accepted, but what is right.

        • The 8232 ProjectOP
          52·
          3 months ago

          “Impering” is not a real word, (Fixed) I presume your question is if abnormalities can become new social norms, and what happens when that is the case (thereby creating a paradox within the quote). Abnormalities can become social norms, if given enough shift in social and cultural attitudes. The grim reality is that this is often leveraged in an immoral direction, such as the rise of mass surveillance. True privacy is not a solution either: The thought that privacy leads to an increase in crime is true and cannot be ignored, but removing privacy comes at a cost. Eventually that cost outweighs the benefits of privacy infringement, and we are far past that line. Criminals, however, will always find access to robust privacy; just as they have found access to guns. Removing privacy in the public does nothing but removing protection from those with privacy: governments and criminals alike. Unjust laws only burden the just, as the lawless will not heed them. Privacy is a right, not a privilege to be revoked due to the actions of a few.