this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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Privacy
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Benign things can always be used against you in a court of law by authoritarians. The whole protest = terrorism and donating to liberal causes = funding terrorists for example. Maybe you donated clothing to an organization that aids refugees before. Now you're liable to get warrants for financing immigration crimes and they can start digging for more and more "evidence" until you either end up bankrupt from legal fees or you crack under the pressure. Everyday people with literally nothing to hide have no recourse once the regime sets eyes on you, not to mention shit like following you everywhere and reporting your activities as evidence of flight risk so you can't bond out.
This is the big one. Not about pants or bathrooms or passwords. It's about whether you want the government or corporations to know personal details that can later be used against you. Are you religious? Jewish? What's your ethnicity? National origin? Could any of those be used to target you? Maybe you have been seeing a therapist or counselor, what's that about? Are you depressed, suicidal? Did you cheat on your wife and now you're in couples therapy? Do you have a drug, gambling, or alcohol problem, or other addiction? Maybe you were just a dumb kid and did something stupid like petty shoplifting?
Everyone has something to hide, even if it's not a bad thing. All of those things could be used to target you. Maybe to eliminate you from consideration for a job. Maybe someone searches for your name before a date. Maybe ICE is looking for anyone they can deport to meet their quota.