"Pivacy is often defined as freedom from unauthorized intrusion. But many of the things that feel like privacy violations are “authorized” in some fine print somewhere. (..)

Anyone who holds a vast amount of information about us has power over us. At first, the information age promised to empower individuals with access to previously hidden information.

But now the balance of power is shifting and large institutions — both governments and corporations — are gaining the upper hand in the information wars, by tracking vast quantities of information about mundane aspects of our lives. Now we are learning that people who hold our data can subject us to embarrassment, or drain our pocketbooks, or accuse us of criminal behavior. This knowledge could, in turn, create a culture of fear.

[T]he glory of the digital age has always been profoundly human. Technology allows us to find people who share our inner thoughts, to realize we’re not alone. But technology also allows others to spy on us, causing us to pull back from digital intimacy.

When people ask me why I care about privacy, I always return to the simple thought that I want there to be safe, private spaces (..). I want there to be room in the digital world for letters sealed with hot wax. Must we always be writing postcards that can — and will — be read by anyone along the way?"