The movement to preserve online privacy runs counter to the business model of many big tech companies, which have devised profitable business models that hinge on capitalizing on personal data users surrender by using their platforms. This reality cannot be divorced from the facts that prominent figures, like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, have often made remarks like the following.
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”
Don’t be evil
Schmidt, who was Google chief at the time, was being interviewed on CNBC when he was asked whether users should feel comfortable sharing their data with Google.
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His statement in response came as a surprise given how much Google had claimed (during this much simpler era of Silicon Valley) to care about user privacy.
These arguments, after all, are the same used by those who are adamant that we must break encryption in the name of safety, as well as those who defended the now-clear government surveillance programs disclosed by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Worry versus harm
Scrutiny intensified in the months after these comments, with Google attempting to assuage concerns by reiterating policies around data anonymization despite continued criticism.
Co-founder Larry Page then tried to help the situation in mid-2010 by saying users should distinguish between “worry versus harm”.
He tried to imply that bulk collection of data, including harvesting data from private Wi-Fi networks via Street View cars, may be harmless if that data has no utility. He challenged detractors to specifically name individuals harmed by such practices.
Then, a couple of years later, Google faced several federal fines, including a then-record $22.5 million penalty after the firm was found to have bypassed default privacy settings on Apple‘s Safari browsers. The EU also argued that controversial privacy changes breached European law.
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