Why My Privacy Is Important To Me

Article = none , personal opinion.

There's been a lot of talk about online privacy , or the lack there of , the recent c-30 bill that was killed that would have given canadian police the right to basically spy on anyone any place , any time.

And there is that tired old argument that still gets traction in some corners, you know, "If you have nothing to hide , you have nothing to fear from the police watching you. "

I'd just like to say a few words about why I value my privacy.

I don't want to receive coupons on my phone about the great sale the pizza place I'm currently walking by is having.

I don't want to find out ten credit cards were openned, in my name  and now the companies aim to collect thousands of dollars from me , money I don't have, or they'll wreck my credit rating.

My boss doesn't need to know which political party I voted for, and doesn't need the ability to insure that I voted for his party or he'll demote / fire me.  Same deal with which religion I believe in.

I don't need a team of psychologists going over my "data profile" and deciding when would be the best time to hit me with a sales pitch , when would I be weakest , what would really cinch the deal to buy their piece of junk.

I certainly don't need such a "data profile" being even gathered in the first place.

I don't need some salesman to find out what my girlfriends phone number is , and then bollux my call display so it looks like she's calling when it's really a sales pitch.

I don't like talking to machines. I especially don't like talking to machines that phone a thousand people an hour and ask personal questions they have no business asking.

I don't need some computer to find out which ailments I have and send off ten thousand bogus homeopathic recipies that will "cure" what ails me please have your credit card ready.

Microsoft has no business knowing that my lap top is running Linux , even while my main machine continues to run Windows. I don't need bill gates to decide to "punish" me for my customer disloyalty.

I'm not intersted in that collect phone call from my brother Tom who's in the carribian and desperately needs a thousand dollars cash right now. Tom died about ten years ago , by the way , so I'm pretty sure it's a scam.

I don't think the grocery store has any business asking for my postal code and refusing to serve me if I don't give it. I don't need the flyers landing in my mailbox, I'm trying hard to get rid of the last batch.

I don't need Rogers to come knocking on my door , kick me out of bed because its VERY IMPORTANT , ask one question about how my internet is doing , and then launch into a sales pitch.

I don't need the rogers sales person freaking out when they come back three months later and I slam the door in their face because they already pulled that one on me once before.

I'm not intersted in receiving a letter from the local hospital stating that "Dear ...OTTAWABOY... we heard about your recent stay in our hospital for INSERTDISEASE-X , but you have to understand that in order for our facilities to stay open we are asking for donations ..."

I find it desgusting that every contract I am forced to sign against my will includes the clause "... we will not share your personal information with anyone except our business parters and associates and representatives , affiliates ... " because that basically means they will sell your information to any idiot on the street with two pennies to rub together.

I am actually upset that when I bought my first Dell Computer , Sympatico phoned me up knowing all the details and tried to sell me a dsl modem. I said no , no NO ! NOOO ! and one arrived in the mail a few days later anyways. It took two hours on the phone to cancel the account I never wanted , and another hour a few days later to pack up the modem in a box they mailed me and carry it across the street to mail it back. ... Three months later they sent me another one. I refused to touch it and told the post man holding it to return to sender I refuse delivery.

I am upset that the last time I applied for a job they demanded my facebook page and password so they could snoop around on it and see if I was the kind of person they wanted to hire.

I'm even more upset when I told them a) I don't have a face book account , b) I want my resume back because I don't want to work in such a place , and c) they kept my resume anyways so they could show their client what kind of people worked for them, even though I'd just told them I don't want to work for them. Their instinctive reaction of "What's on your facebook page that you're hiding " just ticked me off even more. Is everyone a criminal who doesn't want to recieve endless spam ? Apparently so.

(edit : Feb 18)  A british bank clerk noticed "The CEO makes 7000 pounds an hour , I make only 7. That's fair. " on face book. She got fired for it.

A Canadian Woman suing her employer for depression put up a picture where she had smiled for the camera. The Insurance company decided she didn't look depressed , and denied her claim.