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'I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy
Solove, Daniel J.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=998565Date Written: 2007-07-12 Publisher: San Diego Law Review Year Published: 2007 Pages: 28pp Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX15256 According to the nothing to hide argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. Abstract: In this short essay, written for a symposium in the San Diego Law Review, Professor Daniel Solove examines the nothing to hide argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: "I've got nothing to hide." According to the nothing to hide argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The nothing to hide argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the nothing to hide argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings. Subject Headings |