The reading “I’ve Got Nothing To Hide” by Daniel J. Solove was a reading that piggybacked up the conversation from our prior conversation in class. Jonena started and opened the conversation of what privacy really means. After the insightful and informative presentation I started to look at things a bit more differently. This article, also helped me open my eyes a bit more too. In class professor asked if we cared if the people behind google was reading our emails. I shrugged it off because I also have that same mentality, I’ve got nothing to hide. Well, maybe I do though. Everything I do on the internet is legal (for the most part) but there are exchanges and maybe websites that I come across that I wouldn’t want to be disclosed for the benefit of others. It is clear that the argument of not having anything to hide is somewhat invalid. As Solove pointed out in his essay, all law-abiding citizens should have nothing to hide but that’s not always the case. Not every email I send out is in a professional matter. Sometimes I am emailing relatives in Spain where I am catching up on my life and sharing intimate details. Sometimes I get emails about my bank account, I rather not have anyone know how much money is in my account; whether it’s a good or bad amount.
And when it comes down to my phone calls, that’s a whole other story. I am not too concerned about what kind of number they will see that I dial but I am more embarrassed by the conversations I have on the phone. Now I have all sorts of conversations; from conversations with my boyfriend, to conversations with my friends as I talk about my boyfriend, to even personal family conversations that are heavy and should really be no one’s buisness but my own. As Solove pointed out, privacy is compromised by the limited disclosure of certain information against potent national security issues. I don’t think my phone as an American citizen really needs to be wired as I am having intimate and private conversations with my boyfriend or close people in my circle. I get the whole issue after the 9/11 tragedy, and it makes sense truly. But terrorists attacks are caused by people outside of the US (as far as my understanding). In the US, we do have terrorism, those are known to be school shooters. So if phones and internet data is being wired and tapped then why do we still have school shootings?
I am not going to secure myself and make sure I am using browsers and apps where I am protected but I do feel that there needs to be a certain line that is drawn with what the government does and how they handle our privacy and security.
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