Many times I heard the phrase “If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear” ; and I can’t tell you enough how irritated I feel every time I hear it. This sentence pops out every time there is a question about privacy; for example: installation of surveillance cameras, monitoring phone calls, monitoring SMS messages, monitoring emails, revealing bloggers real names and identity, collecting personal information, etc etc.
Why should I fear if I have nothing to hide? well I do have things to hide; everyone have things to hide. If, and only IF, I looked at a porn in the internet, should everyone know I did? If I have a serious health issue that doesn’t prevent me from perfectly performing my job, must everyone know about it? In fact, if even I’ve committed a serious crime, been convicted, rehabilitated and paid my debt to society, why should I be obliged to reveal that history to my neighbors if I pose no threat to them? If I go somewhere which the society believes it is “inappropriate” to go to, should that be published on a newspaper? I’ve done none of these things, and am in no particular rush to, but I demand the right to privacy if those situations arise.
“Nothing to hide, nothing to fear” is a myth, a fallacy, a trojan horse wheeled out by those who can’t justify their surveillance schemes, databases and privacy invasions. It is an argument that insults intelligent individuals.
