“Why should I care about my privacy when I don’t have anything to hide ?”, the answer is that you should, and in this article, I’m gonna show you why.
You have something to hide
Even if you are not a criminal, you have something to hide, everyone has something to hide, for example, in real life, you don’t want someone to enter your house and start looking at your private stuff without permission, it’s almost the same thing on the digital world, would you like from companies to have your personal data and use it for their advantages like advertising? Would you like companies to sell those personal data to someone else? Think about that.
Privacy is a right
International rights:
Privacy is a basic human right, according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, Article 12 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1966, Article 1:
“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
GDPR:
GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation gives Europeans:
- The right to be informed
- The right of access
- The right to rectification
- The right to erasure
- The right to restrict processing
- The right to data portability
- The right to object
- Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling.
There are other laws that gives you the right of privacy like CCPA, CPRA, CDPA, CPA, New York SHIELD Act…
Lack of privacy can cause some serious problems
Let’s go back to the companies example, let’s say that by mistake, these companies leaked your data, the victim will be you, why? Simply because your data can be used for malicious activities like phishing attacks, identity theft, or worse, getting access to your online accounts, bank accounts or confidential information (medical information for example)…
It makes you life easier
This is the best advantage of privacy awareness, by taking care of your privacy and taking essential steps to improve your privacy, you make your life easier, for example, let’s say you are aware that ads are tracking you, you set up an AdBlocker, and now you won’t have any disturbing ads, it’s a win-win.
Conclusion
Privacy is your right, and ignoring the importance of privacy can sometimes make you in trouble, it’s okay to admit that everyone have something to hide, now that you know how privacy is important, you will need to regain your right.
