The Nightmare of Our Snooping Devices ⇥ nytimes.com

Shira Ovide, the New York Times:

Most Americans by now understand that our phones are tracking our movements, even if we don’t necessarily know all the gory details. And I know how easy it can be to feel angry resignation or just think, “so what?” I want to resist both of those reactions.

Hopelessness helps no one, although that’s often how I feel, too. Losing control of our data was not inevitable. It was a choice — or rather a failure over years by individuals, governments and corporations to think through the consequences of the digital age. We can now choose a different path.

Most articles about privacy tend to feel pretty bleak, but Ovide’s comes across refreshingly optimistic. I appreciate that.

These are choices we can demand of our governments at different levels. It is particularly warranted in the United States, given that it is the headquarters of many privacy-hostile companies and, therefore, the jurisdiction in which users’ data is regulated.