Why It’s OK To Trust Facebook With Your Data But Not The Government
It doesn’t make you a hypocrite or cognitively dissonant
When the Australian Government sought to enrol the population into its electronic health records in 2018 — there was a public outcry — with millions choosing to opt-out due to privacy concerns.
During the COVID19 outbreak, the NHS planned to push out a smartphone app to help with Contact tracing yet about half the population said they would not use it.
Across the pond in the US — less than third of adults were found to be confident that the government could keep their information private and secure.
On the other hand — I’d hazard a guess that many of these distrusting folks: own facebook accounts which knows who all your friends are and your personal particulars); use smartphone apps to which you need to provide personal information — often including your location; and have Google Home which literally listens to what’s happening in your house.
The last of these even requires that you pay them for the privilege!
Just what on earth is going on here?
Why would you happily trust Mark Zuckerberg over your own elected government?
Are they irrational hypocrites — or is there some logic to why it might be unwise to trust the government with too much of your information?
Below are three reasons for which you may want to keep your data away from Uncle Sam:
#1: The Government has a monopoly on the use of force
If you mouth-off on social media — chances are the worst that will happen is being banned from the platform for violating it’s policies.
Facebook employees wearing dark glasses are not going to be knocking on your door in the middle of the night to take you away.
Governments, however, have a long history of doing just that.
From chasing people down for Communist sympathies in the US, to locking up citizens of German and Japanese descent in World War era Australia, or even arresting you for your sexual orientation in the UK — governments have time and again gathered data about their citizens to oppress them.
The above are all liberal democracies might I add. Imagine what has (and continues to) happen in some of the more authoritarian regimes.
#2: It’s hard to escalate abuse by governments
If a private organisation starts to misuse your data — you have a number of options available to you.
You can report it to the ombudsman or consumer protection agencies; and maybe even end up suing them through a court of law.
If the government misuses your information — you may have very limited recourse.
I mean — even being told about the misuse can lead the whistleblower themselves into a lot of hot water. Just ask Edward Snowden or Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
#3: They might start using it for more than originally intended
When Australia discussed adopting the electronic health record to help keep across your personal health — the spectre was raised of it being used for research purposes or even by law enforcement agencies.
Similar things happen in governments all over the world.
It is very hard to lock the government down on using your data only for the specific purpose for which you originally intended for all eternity.
They can introduce new legislation, or just not tell you — with very little ability for you to prove it.
What’re your thoughts?
Can you think of any other reasons for why you may trust private sector actors with your data — but not your own government?
Let me know in the comments below!
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