Thread · 9 tweets · 15 Nov 2019

I generally enjoyed this column from @fmanjoo as I believe he draws stark and clear attention to a real issue, but like much that is written about privacy I feel it falls just short of teasing out the source of the tension. Thread!👇 nytimes.com/2019/11/15/opi…

The heart of privacy is about *appropriate* flows of data. It's not about collection or control, though they impinge on the issue. An example helps: If I've invited you over to hang out, and you observe what I'm doing in my living room, that's fine: no privacy violation.

If however you observed the same behaviour by peeking through my window — same people, same data collection, same level of control (I can't erase inside your head) — this would now be very clearly a privacy violation. You don't need to hire an ethicist, that's inappropriate.

Saying privacy is about transparency is like saying I could be safe if only I just checked no one was spying through my windows before doing anything in my home. The transparency lie is notices and privacy policies. Of course people don't trust them!

Saying privacy is about choice is like saying I could choose to live in a house without windows, or I could go about closing all shutters and curtains in every place I visit. The choice lie is opt out regimes like AdChoices.

Saying privacy is about control is like saying I could wipe the memory from you brain, which — if it were possible — would require me to know you've observed me. But the vast, vast majority of data collection happens without the users ever knowing. Control is a lie.

So, are we doomed to this terrible prison as @fmanjoo says? I don't think so. What is paralysing is that we haven't done the job of separating what is appropriate from what isn't in the digital age. How can you act without at least a rough idea of what's right and wrong?

We have a whole multicultural history's worth of figuring which information sharing is appropriate and which isn't. The digital realm isn't magically separate — but we need to sit down and hash out how our experience translates to it. I think it's not out of reach, not at all.

Once we have that, we can have effective laws, shaming, actions, we can hold tech to account, we can work through internal employee pressure… There: privacy is solved! Now I need a drink — have a great weekend all!