How Privacy Changed 

“Ultimately, saying that you don't care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different from saying you don't care about freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.” ― Edward Snowden

Something y'all didn't touch on is how harmful it is for governments to have access to our privacy. If the government has access to my location data, text, emails, internet history etc. they are in a huge position of power over me, and I can't reasonably do anything about that unless I want to adopt a Amish lifestyle. I can understand that a lot of companies make their money off my privacy but there needs to be a middle ground where I can use modern day technology without having to give up the information of everything in my life. And since the government does have all that data it makes it hard to organize any rebellion against the government whatsoever since they could just see that and counter it. Edward Snowden talks about that exact thing with Joe Rogan. Lack of privacy leads to not being able to challenge the government in any meaningful way. Edit: The original name of the video was "Why Privacy Matters" which is what sparked my comment, idk why they changed it

I live in the salt lake valley. We’ve got a giant NSA data storage center here that would be unknown if Edward Snowden hadn’t spilled th beans. Right next to it? A Facebook data center.

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell, 1984

US: "China might access information TicTok is collecting, so we're banning TicToc." Me: "Why don't we just ban that sort of data collection." US in a defensive tone: "What are you? Some sort of conspiracy nut job?"

A few years ago I didn't get all of the fuss over our collected data. The more I learn about it, the more imporant I see it to be. The fact that a large marjority of Facbook's profits come from advertizing that is so effective due to their infringement on our privacy is INSANE. The $$$ attached to our personal browsing data is unfathomable and we should be better protected from having it sold with no cut from the sale.

*"You must love Big Brother. It is not enough to obey him: you must love him"* And man do people love him smh

I'm not mad that you guys are sponsored, I'm mad you missed the obvious opportunity to make the privacy video sponsored by NordVPN

It'd be funnier if this vdieo was sponsored by NordVPN

This guy has grown on me big time. But I hope Jared is OK!

I simply hate the fact that companies know more about myself than I do, and they still target me with ads that don't work. Case in point: Reece's ads, even though I'm allergic to nuts.

Thank you Wisecrack for making some distinction between the private and the personal. That distinction can be very important and might be worth delving into for its own video!

I lost it at "privacy not available in China" xD

Wisecrack be like: "You know that thing you believe is fundamentally black or white? SIKE! It's yet another gray area."

When Aristotle said "A person belongs to the state" did he mean, that he is PART of the state or that he is PROPERTY of the state?

I was surprised that this video didn’t talk about the PATRIOT Act at all.

My Favorite analogy regarding this comes from SMBC: Link's below. *Citizen:* I just don't see why the government needs a backdoor to all software *Official:* You make is sound so sordid. Consider this: You're wearing clothes. That's fine, but how do we know you're not hiding something in there? We don't want you to go _without_ clothes, so we offer a simple compromise. We make is so that _all_ of your clothes are see-thru _all_ the time, *but* only for a small group of distant people whose identity and motives are secret to you. *Citizen:* That analogy just makes it seem worse. *Official:* Analogy? www. smbc-comics . com / index . php ? id = 4083

Watching firefly "hey, look, a new wisecrack video, let me see it." See Firefly reference. "Are you spying on me mister?"

Democracy, which most of us still claim to want - big mood

There is a book called "Habeas Data: Privacy vs. The rise of surveillance tech" That I think the Wisecrack staff would enjoy reading on this subject.

I didn't grow up with any of this stuff and even I am regretful that I can't see my family because I don't want an Alexa et al. In my house or anywhere near me. It's probably much harder if you've used social media and privacy robbing technology all your life. The bread and butter of these services is your data. You are the product and a cheap one at that. You really must evaluate whether a service is worth what you are giving up and 90% of the time the answer is probably "no".

Privacy was thrown away for Americans when we submitted to the red scare. Fearing someone’s ability to label you and it be taken as truth to authorities solely based off word-of-mouth, whether you ascribe to it’s beliefs or not, under a “free” state doesn’t exactly correlate too well lol.

The problem with terms of agreement is that often, whether commercially or institutionally or socially, the service asking you to waive your right to privacy has been made necessary for basic mandatory functions. Until we can collectively force companies like Uber or Facebook to offer privacy-compliant versions of their service, there is no choice for many people. Privacy isn't just waived to participate inherently, it's waived by corporations who profit from our lack of privacy.

I've always said that there exists a spectrum with "convenience" on one end and "privacy/security" on the other. If you want more privacy/security then you need to give up convenience, and more convenience is paid for with a reduction in privacy/security.

That thumbnail is very cool to me. Salute to whoever made it! 🔥

I was hoping you would touch up on the social-psychology behind the Hawthorne effect and how that greatly impacts the psychological development of people in a completely transparent environment

1:56 - Just start here and skip the annoying ad for those same earbuds everyone else is advertising now.

This stuff is Big Time important

Wisecrack, I love you but why does you thumbnail NOT SAY “BIG ZUCC IS WATCHING” cmon you missed a golden opportunity

You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.👊 -TheLuxurious

Privacy lawyer here; if you're an American and unless your data is held by an insurance company or healthcare company, it's probably being "monetized" or sold in some way without any regulatory oversight. California is a little different, but that law (CCPA) is still in its infancy. What you should worry about the most is your location information being used to build a profile about you or your ISP tracking your browsing activities and doing the same.

That thumbnail is nightmare fuel. But to be fair, any picture of the Zucc is terrifying.

I wondered where tabloids got their start from and got informed tangentially, thanks a ton Micheal. Stay Awesome Wisecrack!

What a lost opportunity to feature VPN Shark as a sponsor :D PD @wisecrack: It would be nice (and thorough) of you to include your sources in the description. Loving your content tho!

Yo where tf is Jared btw

I think that we might be headed towards a society with a class distinction based on privacy-outlawry. The basic premise being that, "if you demonstrate you aren't capable of being a well-rounded individual", the powers that be can brand you the modern version of an outlaw, who can be observed by anyone at any time, without it being an invasion of privacy. And then we'll see that escalate towards making lower class people branded as unworthy of privacy protection, with the things people were caught doing being used to justify the violations, while ignoring the fact that people in the rest of society probably committed those same violations but weren't caught. Basically; Take the war on drugs, but replace drugs with your browser history.

I don't remember where I heard it, but someone said privacy is the place where we can reflect upon our actions and use introspection to grow as people. To remove privacy from someone's life is why you seemingly have shallow two-dimensional celebrity people who despite having wealth and families still act little better than high-schoolers.

Some of us have never known anything besides a community identity. Privacy is limited to the thoughts inside your head. Everything else, from your house to your room in it, is subject to "eminent domain" as far as your family is concerned. In this environment, corruption and abuse thrive due to apathy. It happens through paper thin walls and we have to make a choice between integrity and self-preservation.

13:00 this has always been to easy of a stance. For starters, we don't "give away everything". We are being tracked and followed regardless if we even use Facebook. It is taking, rather than receiving on the end of data collecting. Second, even if we "give away" by filling in forms online, add bios, share experiences; we don't necessarily say these data could be monetized. And third, it's not like we could use many apps and services without being breached by the providers for far more than the substance of the platform implies. Say, your sleeping pattern, by your smartphone providers. Not everyone sets their alarm via their phone, plus why collect more than that? It's not voluntary, if there is no real alternative. Both in having to agree to wayyy more than the service would imply. As well as in being tracked, followed and breached by many parties anyway.

I definitely think power plays into privacy. The less powerful you are the more your privacy, individualism, and personal rights need to be protected due to your vulnerable position. The more powerful you (or your company) are, the MORE you should be held accountable with checks and balances that require transparency, social duty, and the rights of the people.

Millennial: Why are you judging my thought?! Me: Because you put them out there, publicly

9:00 "We live in a society... ... and we society in a life." - Aristotle

*Ron Swanson has entered the chat*

I just noticed the gradual rocking back and forth of the graphics for the first time and now I can't unsee it.

I recommend "A Very Short Introduction to Privacy". It is a pretty accessible text and claims that privacy laws started as recently as the Victorian Era (which for me was quite a shock).

If anyone says that privacy doesn't matter when you have nothing to hide, ask them if they shit with the bathroom door open.

For me privacy is not just what I do in my home that I don’t want other people to see or hear, for me privacy is primarily about keeping to myself whatever makes me vulnerable. My street address, my phone number, pictures of my face, my work email address etc. That’s the kind of data I don’t trust strangers with, but also data that is requested of me when I start using a new online service. I simply need all the data that people might use to get to me and the people I love to be kept safe. Otherwise it will be available to any strangers, including spiteful and dangerous strangers. Which is why I don’t post pictures of myself or my family or especially my nieces on Instagram, even with right privacy settings. Because I don’t trust viewers not to have bad intentions or not being pedophiles. And as a woman, it’s especially important that no sensible data ends in the hands of anyone who would hurt me for my sexuality, gender non-conformity, my political opinions or just my very existence. That’s why I staunchly defend the private parts of my life.

It’s pronounced e-cos not oy-cos. There is also an ancient quote about it, “τα εν οικω μη εν δημω” which means what happens in your house(oikos) should not get in public(dimos)

In order to understand privacy you must understand its roots in responsibility and individualism. If you cannot be responsible you cannot have privacy, ownership, individualism, and authority. They are all interdependent upon each other. -Responsibility is not a reaction and does not come from the involuntary-intelligence side of ourselves / (the subconscious). -Responsibility can only be gained through voluntarily taking upon yourself the action of doing something or the failing to do something you should have done while you were conscious to make the right decisions. Q: Do you think that we are responsible for our actions? Being responsible for our actions means governing yourself, ownership of your own life, and authority over yourself. Responsibility is ownership and authority. Responsibility is a choice that can only be made voluntarily by the individual. If you fail to make the choice to govern yourself then an external-government will sometimes try to help you or contain you so you do not endanger yourself or others. You lose ownership, authority, and responsibility to the external governing of others. Your parents had to govern you until you did it yourself. Your government has the responsibility to control dangerous criminals because that person doesn't do it themselves. Religion tries to govern those who follow their teachings. But ultimately the individual should take responsibility for everything they are today and govern themselves according to living a happy life while allowing other people to the same. When we blame others what we are actually doing is giving them responsibility over that part of ourselves. We loose ownership and authority and become prisoners and victims to them. But if we take the blame we then own that situation and have authority over it. When you drive a vehicle you are in control. You have taken responsibility and own that situation. You have the authority to create or destroy as you see fit. You have true freedom. The same goes for all your actions. But if you destroy or interfere with others trying to live a happy life also then it is likely that someone will start governing your actions for you. Responsibility is taken. You can try to force others to take responsibility but it never works. They must do it themselves upon their own judgement and free-will. If a person doesn't see a reason to do something they won't do it. Understanding creates hope. Confusion creates fear. Each can be a motivation to act. But only hope gives a lasting good result to empower the individual to govern themselves correctly. www.quora.com/Are-we-responsible-for-our-actions/answer/Ben-Burton-35

I vastly prefer Jared's genuine dead-pan to Michael's feigned over-excitement.

@wisecrack as a literal privacy engineer, excellent job breaking down the perspectives on Privacy. Funny enough legal scholars believe that despite not having an amendment giving an explicit right to privacy, the 3rd, 4th, 5th & 9th amendment make a compelling foundation for an American right to privacy!

One interesting concept that most people have forgotten about was the "party line," a type of home phone service for lower income and usually rural communities. While it eventually fell out of favor during the 70s, it was a feature that AT&T offered since early in its corporate life. I remember as a child noticing this as I perused through the phone book out of sheer boredom. There was literally no privacy with party line service. It's something worth looking up on Wikipedia, but this is not to be confused with contemporary chat services for singles. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_line_(telephony)

That Mr Clean wap video cracked me up so hard that I had to stop this video and find it lol

Sociality is just as vital to development as privacy. Offering them up as a choice is impossible

I might have missed a point somewhere but there's a part I don't understand. Your primary argument for why privacy is important is that people need a space where they can act without judgement so that they can try new or different things unafraid of being ridiculed for doing so, if I'm understand it correctly. What I don't understand is how data collection inhibits that process. The companies that collect your data aren't ridiculing you for not knowing where on a map norway is nor are they selling or giving it to others who intend to do so. I'm not saying that privacy isn't important or defending the ethics of this kind of data collection, I just don't see the connection between these two points.

I think an important piece missing here is to whom people give up their privacy. There's an interesting difference between surrendering ones private information to their own government, a corporation, and a foreign government. For example, an American may not care if Google sells her search history to advertisers, or if Tiktok tells the Chinese government which dancing videos she likes, but may care deeply if her government knows which protest she plans on going to.

One of the best things about society today is how tolerant and accepting we are becoming. We have made progress to the point that some, if not most things we would consider personal now, are generally accepted. From that standpoint, why have any privacy at all if we are advanced enough as a society to be okay with its population? Well, look at high school. At some point, whether you were the bully or bullied, you heard a rumor or saw something that spread around school and suddenly someone's life was ruined. As a teenager, this has major psychological implications on one's mental development. So then, how do we prevent these situations? We can't. Because false information can be had simply by making it up. Then let's look at our forfeiture of info for ease of access. Why do we need to do this? I don't like Big Tech knowing the things I look up at 2AM, but we aren't going to pass any proper legislation anytime soon to secure our online privacy. So, for now, we have to be okay with the lack of privacy today. But, we can change things subtly by developing a better intrapersonal life style. Find out who you are, and be okay with it. Then offline, spread this version of you. Online friends will only see one part of you, and your in person friends will already have that information and more, because they interact with you in person. So to wrap it up if you've read this far, focus on who you want to be, and spread that offline. Care not for your online privacy, because it won't be changing anytime soon.

I think most people really don't know how much privacy they give away, or where it goes when they do. The Social Dilemma on Netflix actually covers a lot of this really well. 10/10 would recommend.

That cut to Hamilton was brilliant😁✌️

Balancing personal privacy with societal protections from damages done by individuals requires an anonymized oversight technology which flags deleterious activities to be sent to authorities while deleting harmless, sensitive personal information.

“How Privacy Died” is more like it

Whenever there's talk about privacy someone will inevitably say something like "if you have nothing to hide then what's the problem". And to that I say privacy isn't about whether or not I have something to hide, it's about "none of your business!"

privacy is dead in the age of information. We trade privacy for convenience.

This video was cool af. Buuuut as a side note- Will you please do a “Deep or Dumb” on “Hamilton”?

Shout out to your editing crew who are objectively hilarious.

Those against privacy often use the flawed argument of "If you have nothing to hide you shouldn't you shouldn't need privacy." And then point to all sorts of criminal acts that could be "hidden with privacy". Those who push for social change have historically be oppressed as their ideas are not part of the current popular main stream. These groups often had to meet in secret to organize rallies, sit ins, and other various forms of protest. If their actions were public knowledge they would find it difficult to organize and lose support as often times people are afraid to stand up on their own but if they know others feel the same it can give them the courage to push for change. Authoritarian governments do away to privacy by using the very arguments of it being for the public good as it helps prevent crime as a smoke screen. Their real goal is to ensure no one speaks out about the current government and any who do are quickly silenced as a warning to others. Thus hoping to prevent any rebellious movements from gaining any traction.

*watches whilst waiting for the free Google nest to arrive*

me *See the video title *Goes to incognito mode to watch it *Wonders if it's safe at all🙄 . . . . That's how I met NordVPN

One of the most interesting videos you've done so far, and all you've done is really interesting. Brian K. Vaughan writes in the graphic novel "Private Eye" that the end of the world would come the day browsers history come public. I completely agree to that idea.

The irony of a Facebook ad popping up in the middle of a video about privacy...

Very well done. This is a complex subject.

Love these Wisecrack videos. Hate the lying ads about Christy Smith.

Was just moving some boxes of CDs in the basement and thought remember when you could just listen to something without it affecting an algorithm or alerting whatever music service you use that you really like something!.? When your personal taste or even toilet paper buying schedule was private? I think my grocery store app knows when I'm about to run out of something before I do!

I'm envious of your stache

Nowadays, one should decide for oneself if to exchange one's privacy for the services or not to. Nothing is for free.

great video on how it all works or doesn't depending on your view

The thing about privacy is that it's not a matter of Secret but a matter of Control. Protecting your privacy doesnt mean you dont share any information at all with anyone, but it means you control what information you give and to whom. If you have no control over who sees and knows what about yourself then you have lost control over who you are. Another important thing the video doesnt make clear is that handing over all of your information is not a necessary cost of the new technologies, but a conscient and ideological choice made by the tech creators. There are many tech companies and products that work well and are reasonably profitable without disrespecting the users rights and privacy.

When our technological evolution outpaces our cultural evolution as humans, we BECOME THE BORG. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

my issue is pointed out in the video, i want to remain as part of the society in which i live and a major part of that is social media but with that said we can choose the level in which participate. good episode and thanks you guys are part of our inspiration on our channel.

"Privacy. That's iPhone. Disclaimer: Privacy is not available in China." Idk why this made me chuckle.

What I think is really scary is that rather than the lack of privacy leading to weaker willed people, I think it will be a result of an abundance of consumable goods, targeted toward those that consume them. It will be like reducing us consumers into perfect consumers, and with it demand for consumer goods will spike. With this, hedonism will also grow more prominent but geared towards the now huge group of consumers.

Why doesn't someone start some social media that charges a subscription and then *doesn't* farm people's data?

The trick to privacy is balancing safety and convenience

Has anyone else seen - I'm thinking of ending things?- would love a deep analysis on that

people only have as much privacy as they think or believe to have. I could say the same as concepts of freedom. I feel freedom and privacy go hand in hand.

I have 3 areas I want to protect my privacy from: - Employees - I don't want to lose opportunity to earn money or get fired because of my political views or hobbies. - Family - there's no way to restart relationships with them. I have hobbies that some members of my family might find childish and their political views oppose mine. There's no need to break family over that if privacy allows me to get both. - Government - again, political views. As long as my data doesn't reach directly or indirectly those 3, I don't care who gets it because for them I'm a number at worst and nobody in the crowd at best.

privacy is a blessing

I treat privacy the same way as everything else, by following the Golden Rule, treat others the way you want others to treat yourself. If the government wants to abolish privacy in the name of security, it must be prepared to apply the same rule to itself, this way any corruption or mismanagement within the government has no way to hide & thus the people can punish the government if necessary. Proponents of privacy must be willing to take this both ways also, if they want to keep secrets from the gornment, they can't be mad if the government in turn keep secrets from them. Whether those secrets are bad or for the good.

The people shall be judged not by the color of their skin but by the contents of their browser history.

Eurocentrism is bad enough, Anglocentrism is even worse Americentrism? Ugh...

Can you guys do one on Letterkenny and the power dynamics of being the top dog? Wayne is constantly being challenged for power and respect by the citizens of Letterkenny based on the fact that he's renowned as the best fighter in town. There must be a philosophical analysis to how reputation can invite challenge, kind of like what Vision said in Captain America: Civil War. Maybe contrast it to a situation where reputation/power dissuage challenge and why?

Social media could have developed in a way where people pay a one off fee or subscription to join and share information with others, without that data being siphoned by the company. But I think that's the real rub...in this day and age, privacy is less valuable than money!

It would be fairly easy to move internet privacy tons more manageable level. We simply need to require companies to pay individuals for the use of their private data.

Privacy is also very much based on how much is actually under threat. Like a farmer in the middle ages wouldn't have much if any privacy protection against his local lord. But that local lord also just doesn't have the means to police it nor really the incentive to do so. Now everything can be tracked and the potential gains are tremendous.

That beat in the beginning tho

who says we're all striving for a liberal democracy? 😅☭

Ray J is really working double time for his company, I’ve been seeing his company sponsoring so many videos

I guess I worry that tech companies will make their products unnecessarily unusable for people who want to maintain privacy the same way life insurance companies won't do business with you unless you give them a HIPAA release.

To a great extent, privacy alongside freedom comes with responsibility. As adults we may have both, but in the case of privacy we need to hold ourselves accountable for what goes on in our private spheres. To some this may be surprising, but if our siblings and friends and loved ones are being criminally abusive asshats in our surroundings, it's our individual responsibility to confront these behavioral patterns, ensure the security and health of their victims and to involve authorities when necessary. A respectful government may have no say in our private spheres, but if said government makes an effort of offering help they're not a bad government if we the people refuse to have them involved.

No one's safe in the internet not even those who has used any gadgets.