Privacy should not be a privilege

Loved reading this post by Ava. It sums up really well how I feel about “privacy-focused” alternatives to popular software and services. It’s great that these alternatives exist, but we can’t think of them as a solution to the privacy problem.

I also view it through the following lens: we currently live in a world in which your level of protection on the internet is a function of certain types of privilege.

These include:

Economic privilege, with which you are able to pay directly for services (or self-hosting) rather than relying on the mainstream ad-supported options
Time privilege, with which you can set up and maintain the software you want to use. Much of it is higher-maintenance than the mainstream options, and you may end up switching more often as the services come and go
Knowledge/skills privilege, with which you can overcome the technical barriers one faces when setting up and using a privacy-focused alternative
Education privilege, with which you are able to understand the problem and know about the alternatives in the first place

There are probably others; this is just what comes to mind right now.

I guess my point is that, if we want to actually solve the privacy problems we have on the internet, we can’t just ask individual consumers to run away to alternative services. We have to address the problem at its root, by introducing practical and effective regulatory measures which shift the incentive structures for these companies. Right now, it’s more economically beneficial for these companies not to bother with proper privacy protection. Until the scales balance the other way, nothing will meaningfully change for the vast majority of internet users.