It’s often said that if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. And it would be comforting if that was true, but in a world dominated by Big Data, it’s rapidly becoming a quaint myth – and one that is increasingly dangerous to believe.
In reality, bulk data collection by email providers, Google, smartphone apps, smart home technology, credit card companies, car manufacturers, and insurers (to name a few major players in the world of data) is a grave threat to both privacy and liberty.
Governments may seem benign, but flip to forms of totalitarian behavior. Companies may start to find ways of sharing data that benefit themselves while compromising customers’ rights. And all the while, individuals are becoming used to handing over every last piece of information about who they are, who they know, and what they do.
In this article, we’ll look in-depth at how to protect ourselves against Big Data. This isn’t a political manifesto or a tech-heavy manual for hackers or cybersecurity mavens. Instead, we’ll lay out the threats, with responses that ordinary people can use to protect their privacy online. B… Read More