Finally, a good answer to “If you have nothing to hide…”
We’ve all heard it: “If you have nothing to hide, why do you mind [[insert privacy-limiting action here]]?” The answer is obvious to people who care about privacy, but explaining it to the querant can by time-consuming and trying. Enter Canada’s Privacy Comissioner (as an aside, why don’t we [the US] have one of these?):
The truth is that we all do have something to hide, not because it’s criminal or even shameful, but simply because it’s private. We carefully calibrate what we reveal about ourselves to others. Most of us are only willing to have a few things known about us by a stranger, more by an acquaintance, and the most by a very close friend or a romantic partner. The right not to be known against our will - indeed, the right to be anonymous except when we choose to identify ourselves - is at the very core of human dignity, autonomy and freedom.
(from the Canadian Privacy Commisioner’s Annual Report to Parliament 2001-2002 as quoted in Bruce Schneier’s blog).