Google CEO Eric Schmidt on privacy
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN cites it as the source of the quote and as a critical example of the nothing-to-hide attitude toward privacy.
What it is
A one-minute CNBC clip in which Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that if you have something you do not want anyone to know, perhaps you should not be doing it. The remark became a notorious line in privacy debates.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2010 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Cites TallGuyShort · 2010-04 · on “Google Street View Logs Wi-Fi Networks, Mac Addresses”
Yes. He said it in an interview on CNBC. [this video] "If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines like Google do retain the information for some time, and we are all subject to the Patriot Act, and it is possible that that information may be made available to the authorities." -- Eric Schmidt
Cites paulus_magnus2 · 2017-12 · on “Study finds police body cameras had no significant impact on use of force”
"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place," Schmidt tells CNBC [this video] [LINK]
Cites RunSet · 2022-10 · on “Ad blocking is under attack (2017)”
> Controversial opinion: if you don't like websites with ads, don't use websites with ads. 1. If someone doesn't want their content to be publicly available, they should not put it on a public web server.[0] 2. The question should not be whether ad blocking is ethical, but whether it is a moral obligation.[1] [0] [this video] [1] [LINK]
Critical danielsiders · 2013-06 · on “Eric Schmidt: CNET gets it right on the NSA/Google issue”
"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." [this video]
Critical some1else · 2015-05 · on “How famous people rate Google Play Store apps”
Eric Schmidt obviously has nothing to hide, because maybe he shouldn't be doing anything [..] in the first place. [this video]
Critical plg · 2015-06 · on “Apple’s Tim Cook Delivers Blistering Speech on Encryption, Privacy”
In addition to the comments already here, I think this comes down to trust. Which companies do you trust? Which CEOs do you trust? Eric Schmidt: "If You Have Something You Don't Want Anyone To Know, Maybe You Shouldn't Be Doing It." [1] Mark Zuckerburg: "They trust me — dumb fucks." [2] Tim Cook: "I’m speaking to you from Silicon Valley, where some of the most prominent and successful companies have built their businesses by lulling their customers into complacency about their personal information,” said Cook. “They’re gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it. We think that’s wrong. And it’s not the kind of company that Apple wants to be." [3] Tim Cook: "Our
Critical thr0waway1239 · 2016-12 · on “Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience”
I would love if someone built a Chrome extension which highlights comments from folks self-identifying as working at the companies mentioned in the story. For one, the general radio silence around ethical issues from the same folks who jump in with gusto on technical issues is both the most fascinating and the most creepy thing I have seen recently, and I am guessing the signal (people debating ethics) over noise (people debating technicals) ratio is low when you consider the implications of people taking these things for granted. I guess someone will be asking if the signal and noise should be the other way around, given that HN is mainly for discussing technical issues. Maybe, but it embol