From 0cb6f8191a8a650edb1b060ef48245c1b3126b6b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ezri Zhu Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2024 16:45:04 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] hw --- content/blog/20241006-nothing_to_hide.md | 86 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 86 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/blog/20241006-nothing_to_hide.md diff --git a/content/blog/20241006-nothing_to_hide.md b/content/blog/20241006-nothing_to_hide.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce1f480 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/20241006-nothing_to_hide.md @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +--- +Title: Reflection on Individual Privacy vs. Societal Good. +Description: A reflection on Individual Privacy vs. Social Good +Tags: + - privacy + +--- + +['I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of +Privacy](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565) + +> Read the following paper and prepare a 400-600 word reflection on Individual +> Privacy vs. Societal Good. + +This reflection was written to satisfy a homework assignment for CS396 Security, +Privacy, and Society at [Stevens Institute of +Technology](https://www.stevens.edu/school-engineering-science/departments/computer-science) +for Professor Antonio Nicolos. + +--- + +> The U.S. government practices “full pipe monitoring” and association mapping, +> which gives them the ability to build a detailed map of how our social +> movements are organized, worse this gives them precise information about what +> linkages should be disrupted in order to disrupt large social movements. + +From [Riseup's about us page](https://riseup.net/en/about-us) + +I believe privacy is a fundamental right of everyone, both online and offline. +We have a strong desire to feel in control, and having control over our data +means we have more autonomy. + +When data is collected, it can often be leaked due to incompetence, as seen in +the past with various local, state, and federal government data breaches. The +more data an agency collects, the bigger the target becomes for hackers. Even if +you have nothing to hide, and even if the government may not do anything harmful +with your data, when it ends up in the wrong hands, your information may be used +to phish you or your family and friends. + +As government data collection often focuses on people with suspicious behavior +patterns, anyone marked as "out of distribution" by an AI model may be subjected +to extra scrutiny. This additional scrutiny can lead to unwarranted invasions of +privacy and potential misunderstandings of innocent behavior. Since AI models +used to flag behavior are usually trained on neurotypical individuals, +misclassification of behaviors by neurodivergent people may make their lives +even harder, potentially leading to legal issues. + +Historically, we've seen examples of government surveillance being used against +civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. More recently, as some states +ban abortion, we can see government surveillance data being used to prosecute +people who seek or aid in providing abortions. In Texas, the attorney general's +office sought state data on transgender Texans to revert their gender on their +driver's licenses. These cases illustrate that even if surveillance may seem +acceptable under a government you trust, there's no guarantee that future +administrations or shifting political climates won't turn that same surveillance +apparatus against you or causes you support. + +As we have seen with programs like COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) in +the 1950s-70s, government surveillance technologies can be deployed to monitor +and actively disrupt legitimate social movements and protests. The U.S. +government's practice of "full pipe monitoring" and association mapping provides +them with powerful tools to analyze and map out the structure of social +movements in unprecedented detail. This level of insight allows authorities to +identify key organizers, communication channels, and operational patterns within +activist networks, potentially undermining legitimate social activism. + +As seen on [D. J. Bernstein's Blog on the +NSA](https://blog.cr.yp.to/20220805-nsa.html), the NSA has a long history of +attempting to undermine the security of the internet to facilitate its +surveillance capabilities. These efforts to weaken internet security not only +compromise individual privacy but also create vulnerabilities that can be +exploited by malicious actors, including cybercriminals and foreign intelligence +agencies. + +Ultimately, preserving privacy is not just about individual rights, but about +maintaining the foundations of a democratic society where people can think, +communicate, and organize freely without fear of unwarranted scrutiny or +repression. + +--- + +Solove, Daniel J., 'I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of +Privacy. San Diego Law Review, Vol. 44, p. 745, 2007, GWU Law School Public Law +Research Paper No. 289, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=998565 + +See also: [Electronic Frontier Foundation](https://www.eff.org/)