Wikipedia has a nice summary of the Surveillance Capitalism book, which touches on "why privacy" matters and why it it may not be sufficient.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshana_Zuboff#Surveillance_Capitalism
Why Privacy?
DeletedUser127
Well written.
Just because they have been told they can't do that, doesn't mean that they stop.
elih "why privacy" matters and why it it may not be sufficient.
Huge point made here.
It is valid to assume that no matter what steps anyone does to 'stay private', the best you can do is turn down the flow of information a bit. It is likely impossible to stop it completely other than never going online.
I took a partial step towards going 'offline' when I purchased and used a LightPhone for a couple years. since all I did was use it for calls and texting (yes,fully understand even THAT isn't secure)... there wasn't much online data being 'stolen'. I turned down the firehose to a dribble.
However, over time, the effort to use that device just became too much for the benefits I gained.
Using GOS and privacy based browsers as well as other 'privacy' recommendations - I can tell that my efforts, while not completely for naught, have just slowed things down a bit. :(
For now - it is a balancing act - at best.
Always worth a watch. Shoshana Zuboff on surveillance capitalism | VPRO Documentary
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIXhnWUmMvw]
Zuboff is also an excellent public speaker. Here's a recent example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afOWUuimwOI
Optimist or pessimist, I think all can agree we're in a period of civilization level change, which can be disorienting and fertile ground for charlatans. Zuboff has a laser focus on the issues that really matter for privacy at this level with no hint of trying to sell you the latest snake-oil. At some point privacy relevant decisions come down to costs and benefits. When the information environment is built on hidden costs and targeted benefits, those decisions are bound to be sub-optimal at best (witness the 2007-8 financial collapse, for example, which pales in scale and scope). I barely even talk about privacy anymore. It's too easy to fall into rabbit holes of misinformation. Instead I prefer to talk about the cool tools that I use to navigate the internet (like GrapheneOS) and how they allow me to avoid the hidden costs, which I'm happy to elaborate, and enjoy the benefits -- without the targeted manipulation.
ceramics just saw this article today!
elih it is a huge book to be fair. i'm still in the first 1/3rd of it. but the great thing is that there are many speeches from Zuboff out there to download and listen to, if someone doesn't like reading or is impatient.
Robert Epstein recently did an extremely interesting interview with Joe Rogan
https://dcs-spotify.megaphone.fm/GLT7452376209.mp3
secrec this. Every category of people and their activities are just a regime change away from being persecuted.
https://youtu.be/4-5yxHqYJ-k&t=970, might be interesting to some. It is an ex three letter agency spy speaking.
- Edited
Posted a follow up - summary writeup here: Please check it out: Why privacy - Final Redux and Feedback