Fighting pedophilia at the expense of our privacy: The EU rule that could break the internet

boem@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 533 points –
Fighting pedophilia at the expense of our privacy: The EU rule that could break the internet
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I like Snowden as much as any terminally online person does, but I don't think his quote is really the best as it supposes there are people with nothing to hide. Everyone has something to hide, if for no other reason than out of embarrassment.

There's a reason why we close the bathroom door despite the fact that everyone knows we are taking a shit.

Absolutely. You don't have to be a pedo or criminal or whatever to want privacy. We all want at least some level of privacy, and many people have an actual need for it.

I'm American, and we've had multiple similar efforts to destroy encryption "to protect the children"

In reality (and this is what they want) it will make it exponentially more dangerous for women needing abortions and LGBT people in dangerous situations. Journalists and confidential informants lose huge levels of the anonymity required to even investigate and report on things.

And don't even start on the floodgates of espionage government agencies will do.

Recommended reading: Daniel J. Solove's "A Taxonomy of Privacy" (2006).

Solove lays out sixteen different kinds of information privacy concerns -- touching on topics including government surveillance, harassment by paparazzi, improper disclosure of medical information, false-light defamation, and even someone peeping on you in the bathroom.

Most of them have nothing to do with the person whose privacy is threatened having done anything wrong!

it supposes there are people with nothing to hide.

That's exactly the opposite of what it supposes.
It's saying that the people who make that argument, absolutely have things they want to keep private. Just like everyone has something to say.