Privacy
To say that one doesn't care about the right to privacy because they have nothing to hide is the same as saying one doesn't care about freedom of expression because they have nothing to say.
Edward Snowden
Ideas
- There is no freedom without absolute protection of privacy.
- The surveillance society weighs primarily on the most vulnerable and the poorest.
- Software Democracy enshrines the protection of privacy in its Constitution and in its Code.
- The best way to prevent data theft is not to store it.
- [A reference text](https://robindoherty.com/2016/01/06/nothing-to-hide.html](https://robindoherty.com/2016/01/06/nothing-to-hide.html)
What are we talking about?
Losing our right to privacy means accepting:
- Being tracked in all our movements
- Having our exchanges monitored (who, where, when...)
- That our digital activities are surveilled.
Loss of liberties
This inevitably leads to the loss of our freedoms.
- Our freedom of speech will be reduced by self-censorship, even before any repressive measures.
- Our freedom to connect and communicate will also be self-censored; is this person considered dangerous? Will I take the risk of talking to them?
- Our freedom of assembly will be undermined for the same reasons.
- Our freedom of action in general. We will always have to ask ourselves: what are the risks I'm taking by buying this book? By visiting this website? By saying this to that person?
The social aspect
Another constant in these pages: it is always the poorest who suffer. The same goes for the surveillance society that is taking shape.
Ask yourself the following question: at every moment in history, who suffers the most from unjustified surveillance? It is not the privileged, but vulnerable people. Surveillance is not a question of security, it is a question of power. It is about control.
Edward Snowden
It's not refusing cookies that will save us!
The risks of data misuse
These immense amounts of data will not only be exploited by authorities, but inevitably also hacked, recovered, and used by actors who could be even more malicious and dangerous.
And it's inevitable. Too many people have access, there are too many human and technical flaws in accessing this data for a motivated and well-endowed group not to be able to access any personal database.
Privacy Protection
The identity of Software Democracy
- The "real" identity provided by Software Democracy is a digital certificate. It carries private information (name, address, etc...) but the real identifier is the public key, which already transmits much less information.
- Each Software Democracy application will use the minimum amount of personal data necessary for the functioning of the application.
Freedom of use and pseudonyms
- If the official identity of Software Democracy is essential to actively participate in the system (receive Universal Basic Income or exercise one's citizen rights), nothing requires individuals to use it for other purposes.
- Everyone is free to generate additional identities, which can be used freely for access to all other services.
- This is true for both identity and digital wallets, allowing each person to manage their identities as they see fit for most of their private life.
The avoidance strategy
Assuming that all databases will eventually be hacked, the safest databases are those that do not exist. It is therefore necessary to question the very existence of databases. For example, on an online sales site, why should the site store your personal information, if you can transmit it with a single click by allowing temporary access to certain elements of your digital identity (official or pseudonym)?
The idea is to transmit information on demand and à la carte, avoiding storage whenever possible.