What We Can Learn About Online Privacy From Climate Change

Every time we see a fresh example of how badly our privacy has been eroded by the same tech companies that tout a commitment to protect it, the same reactions pop up. Boycott the service, stop using their products, delete them forever and don’t look back. They’re all valid responses.

Then many of us ask ourselves: “What can we do to protect our privacy?”

Illustration: Mark Pernice

Deleting accounts and giving up on offending services can be good moves. But let’s be realistic: They’re small measures when you consider the big picture, that the gears of the online world are greased with our data. And there is no sign of that changing anytime soon.

After all, if it’s not one tech giant with all of your data, it’ll probably be another, right? So what’s the point of even trying to switch?

If being overwhelmed by the scale of the problem feels familiar, it should. It’s a lot like climate change. Obviously, eroding internet privacy won’t physically transform our planet for generations to come. But it is the kind of huge challenge that requires giant organizations — like governments and corporations — to take the threat seriously and act accordingly, rather than say they’re concerned and promising to do better in the future. Real action on climate hinges on these big players to the point that small personal measures pale in comparison.

Read the story from The New York Times by Alan Henry - “What We Can Learn About Online Privacy From Climate Change.”

The biggest mistake we've made on climate change

Every time I go to the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival I’m asked the same question: since there’s no policy issue more important than responding to global warming, and we’re doing so little about it, why do I ever write about anything else?

Illustration: Dionne Gain

I give the obvious answer. Though I readily agree that climate change is the most pressing economic problem we face, if I banged on about nothing but global warming three times a week, our readers would soon lose interest.

But even as I make my excuses, my Salvo-trained conscience tells me they’re not good enough. Even if I can’t write about it every week, I should raise it more often than I do.

I’m still combing through the budget’s fine print, but I’ve yet to remark that its thousands of pages make almost no mention of climate change.

Read the comment by Ross Gittins from today’s Age - “The biggest mistake we've made on climate change.”