At the South by Southwest Interactive festival, Monitor photographer Ann Hermes asked that question. Her photo series shows that the people's attitudes toward privacy are deeply personal. Here's what she found out:
"Privacy means fairness. How do we allow people to be treated appropriately in terms of their digital lives, as well as their offline lives. How do we ensure that they have access and control to their information?" – FTC Commissioner Julie Brill
"Privacy is the ability to have safe spaces to associate with others and to share controversial ideas and to explore controversial ideas – without fear of the tyranny of the majority or the elites to prevent you from doing so." – Kevin Bankston, New America’s Open Technology Institute
“As someone who comes from a background that isn’t necessarily the mainstream – my parents were immigrants, I’m South Asian, I’m gay – there’s all these things we have to think about our identities and what we reveal to the world. We all construct ourselves in different ways and privacy is a big part of that." – G.S. Hans, Center for Democracy & Technology
"I think the principle is bigger than the threat for me - my stuff is not that secret, but I just don’t want it to be everywhere." – Ville Ailio, consultant
See the entire photo series here. // Ann Hermes