I'm sorry Mark but privacy matters

2010 Jan 12 ( 2 minutes )

I have recently read an article interviewing the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, about privacy and Facebook in which he basically says that privacy is dead and useless for most people.

Well, I’m sorry dear Mark, but you are dead wrong. Most people I know cherish this important notion of life that is privacy. Not everybody wants to publish each state of its sexual life or last payment you did to IRS.

Actually dear Mark perhaps you should start now your own RSS feed supplying such details, including bank account numbers and last time you saw a doctor and why. After all, who needs privacy. Perhaps we should install a camera in your bedroom too. Or even one in your bathroom in case somebody would like that…

This thought is indeed scary. Privacy is usually what makes us human at some point, and also what prevents a police state to come and rule us. A great conference performed at Singularity University about security and privacy explains why.

Now perhaps that the future will unveil a world in which privacy is tough to keep (with so many sensors, cameras, you name it), but nonetheless I think it’s an important notion to protect and cherish. At least let’s try to prevent the coming of a police state …