zlacker

>>pbrw+(OP)
Ok, my contrarian hot take (for HN at least). The real entities we need to be afraid of in regards to privacy are governments & politicians, not companies & entrepreneurs.

The worst thing a company can do is try to sell you more soap. The government on the other hand can literally ruin your life (or even end it in some countries).

The EU is doing a fantastic job of keeping everyone distracted by pointing the finger at the "evil American tech companies" while simultaneously doing the opposite when it comes to privacy from government...which is the real threat.

I could point to many instances of this but the easiest one is the EU commission currently pushing a ban on encryption.

>>pembro+eb
When you realize that large enough corporations are a form of government, your way of thinking really starts falling to bits...

But, the government is the solution to when business gets too much power. You can't convince a profit motivated corporation to stop doing something evil as long as it's profitable, so it's the government's job to protect people from corporate governance.

>>LightH+ud
> the government is the solution to when business gets too much power.

I totally agree with this. But are personalized Facebook ads really an example of this?

And what's the solution when the government gets too much power? Especially in a "democracy," when the people have implicitly given approval for this by voting in the people who are attempting to consolidate power?

>>pembro+Sh
>And what's the solution when the government gets too much power?

Elections and courts. Compared to private entities, the government is very restricted in what it can do. When a company says, "We won't share your data with anyone," there's nothing you can do when they change their mind. But you can sue the government for damages.

>>vharuc+8l
> Compared to private entities, the government is very restricted in what it can do.

Companies can’t point guns at me and put me in a cage. They can’t go into my home without my permission and search my stuff. And if I don’t want to deal with a company, I can simply stop interacting with them. If I don’t want to deal with a government, I have to emigrate and renounce my citizenship.

>>chroma+YM
> Companies can’t point guns at me and put me in a cage.

But they used to, once upon a time, until they were limited from doing so.

> And if I don’t want to deal with a company, I can simply stop interacting with them.

Except when you can't. There's no "stop interacting" for a bunch of things in today's society. Google/Facebook tracks you even when you're not using their products. If you want a non-tech example, try stop interacting with Experian, for instance.

>>mporte+cR
> Google/Facebook tracks you even when you're not using their products

> If you want a non-tech example, try stop interacting with Experian, for instance.

Use cash, homestead, etc. Yes - you can, in fact, stop any data going to credit rating agencies.

There's absolutely nothing you can do to stop being of interest to one or another level of government in US, while living in the US.

I know it's a radical example, but your statement is false.