Privacy is a collective concern
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When we tell companies about ourselves, we give away details about others, too.
By Carissa Véliz
People often give a personal explanation of whether they protect the privacy of their data.
Those who don’t care much about privacy might say that they have nothing to hide. Those who do worry about it might say that keeping their personal data safe protects them from being harmed by hackers or unscrupulous companies. Both positions assume that caring about and protecting one’s privacy is a personal matter. This is a common misunderstanding.
It’s easy to assume that because some data is “personal”, protecting it is a private matter.
But privacy is both a personal and a collective affair, because data is rarely used on an individual basis.
Suppose, for example, you buy a DNA testing kit. For about £100, you can hand over a sample of your saliva, along with some of your rights to your genetic data. In exchange, you will receive a report about your health and ancestry that has an average fa...
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