Welcome to the Data Resistance
Imagine for a moment that you’re sitting on the toilet. Now further imagine that out of nowhere, a well dressed stranger, let’s call this stranger, Jerry, picks the lock to your stall and hovers over you while you’re taking a dump. Jerry stands eerily ready with a notepad, recording all the private information about your endeavor with the porcelain throne. Now, if you’re thinking, well, Jerry can keep a secret or that I don’t really care if Jerry tells the world that I have IBS and that I use an entire roll of toilet paper to wipe. That’s fine. That’s exactly how Jerry is hoping you’d feel.
Alternatively, if you’re thinking: Jerry needs to Get The F*ck Out so you can squeeze, flatulate and wipe in peace, well then in that case, welcome to the data-resistance.
I’ll admit data privacy is about as sexy as a PBS special on cabinetry. In fact, if just upon reading the words “data privacy” your eyes glazed over and you started thinking about literally anything else…. I get it. But here’s the thing, a conversation about data privacy is really just a conversation about Freedom. But not rah-rah American freedom, that’s often used as a license to be an asshole. I’m talking about true, unabashed independence that exists only when you no longer have to worry about whether your digital profile can be weaponized and used against you. In an increasingly online world, without digital privacy, TRUE freedom ceases to exist.
What is TRUE freedom in a digital world?
In my opinion, it’s the ability to communicate, browse the internet and operate within its confines, without wondering whether your data is being used for purposes beyond its original intent.
So why do I care about this?
Simply stated: I care about self-expression. Growing up in a family that’s always been involved in technology, I learned early on that the forces of technological progress cast shadows on the very things they’re meant to foster. I’m keenly aware that every message sent is a message recorded. Where once communication was just a system by which information, ideas, hopes and even dreams could be exchanged, today it’s increasingly considered “data.” And under the weight of that technological mask — that supposedly benign mask that never tells us what’s being recorded or watched — our freedom to communicate becomes just a thing we tell ourselves in spite of our “under-surveillance” reality.
Rest assured, I’m not some anti-establishment anarchist. Quite the opposite, I don’t want to watch the world burn, I want to help put out the fire. I want to relieve our digital self-expression from the mere possibility of entrapment. Because every message you send and every message you receive should not be filed away in a proverbial box that can be used by invisible forces that may or may not have your best intentions at heart. Your footprints are yours. You shouldn’t have to worry about looking over your shoulder because your digital life shouldn’t be some noire detective story.
I’ve been working in the digital privacy space, for over 6 years. I’ve developed a messaging app that goes beyond encryption. I’ve battled governments, and been approached by others for help. More than anything else, it’s that irony that qualifies me to address the issues of data vulnerability. I’ve learned a lot and it’s time I started talking.
It’s time to remove Jerry from the equation.
