0:00

LinkedIn presents. It doesn't matter

0:02

if you're liberal or conservative,

0:04

rich, or poor, everyone on a

0:06

fundamental level has a desire to

0:08

keep certain aspects of their life

0:10

private. Privacy is essential for human

0:13

dignity. Privacy acts as a shield

0:15

against people who would take snippets of

0:17

information out of context to attack

0:19

our reputations or manipulate us for

0:22

their own personal benefit. And in

0:24

the internet age, this is happening

0:26

a lot more often. Good

0:32

morning. I'm Michael Koffnatt and this

0:34

is the next big idea daily

0:36

where we unpack the best new

0:39

nonfiction one big idea at a

0:41

time. Today, let's talk about privacy.

0:43

Is it even a thing anymore?

0:45

I mean, in a world where

0:47

your phone tracks your steps, cameras

0:50

are everywhere, and your inbox is

0:52

somehow full of things you just

0:54

talked about, it's a fair question.

0:56

But historian and privacy expert Lawrence

0:58

Capello says privacy matters more than

1:01

ever, even in our data obsessed

1:03

age. In his new book,

1:05

On Privacy, Lawrence makes the

1:07

case that privacy isn't just

1:09

about secrets. It's about freedom.

1:11

dignity, mental health, and basic

1:13

human connection. And in a

1:15

society that's increasingly wired to

1:18

monitor, track, and monetize us,

1:20

protecting your privacy is less

1:22

about paranoia and more about

1:24

power. Lawrence will share five

1:26

essential ideas from the book

1:28

right after this quick break. From

1:38

LinkedIn News, I'm Lia Smart,

1:41

host of Everyday Better, an

1:43

award-winning podcast dedicated to personal

1:45

development. Join me every week

1:47

for captivating stories and research

1:49

to find more fulfillment in

1:51

your work and personal life.

1:53

Listen to Everyday Better on the

1:55

LinkedIn podcast network, Apple Podcasts,

1:57

or wherever you get your

2:00

podcasts. podcast. Start your week

2:02

with the Hello Monday podcast. We'll

2:04

navigate career pivots. We'll learn where

2:06

happiness fits in. Listen to Hello

2:08

Monday with me, Jesse Hemple, on

2:11

the LinkedIn Podcast Network, or wherever

2:13

you get your podcasts. Insight number

2:15

one, why privacy matters. There are

2:17

parts of your life that are

2:19

simply nobody else's business. Full stop.

2:21

That's not paranoia, that's just being

2:24

human. It doesn't matter if you're

2:26

liberal or conservative, rich or poor,

2:28

everyone on a fundamental level has

2:30

a desire to keep certain aspects

2:32

of their life private. Privacy is

2:34

essential for human dignity. Privacy acts

2:37

as a shield against people who

2:39

would take snippets of information out

2:41

of context to attack our reputations

2:43

or manipulate us for their own

2:45

personal benefit, and in the internet

2:48

age, this is happening a lot

2:50

more often. Privacy also creates space

2:52

for intimacy. We share our secrets

2:54

with the people we love and

2:56

trust. It's a crucial building block

2:58

for establishing the trust needed to

3:01

forge and maintain deep bonds with

3:03

our friends and our loved ones.

3:05

For many of us, these bonds

3:07

are the best part about being

3:09

alive. And it keeps us from

3:11

being prisoners of our recorded past.

3:14

A mistake you made at 16

3:16

shouldn't define you at 40, but

3:18

without privacy, our worst moments follow

3:20

us forever. It also protects our

3:22

mental health. Everyone needs time alone

3:25

to think, to recharge, to just

3:27

be. Without privacy we never get

3:29

a break from the noise. But

3:31

most importantly, privacy is a precondition

3:33

for liberty. Tyrants invade privacy to

3:35

accumulate power to suppress dissent to

3:38

control their citizens. If a society

3:40

calls itself free, it has to

3:42

protect privacy, because without it, that

3:44

freedom is just an illusion. How

3:46

to respond when someone says, if

3:48

you're not doing anything wrong, you

3:51

should have nothing to hide. You've

3:53

heard that before, right? If you're

3:55

not doing anything wrong, then you

3:57

should have nothing to hide. The

3:59

argument sounds reasonable, until you think

4:02

about it for like more than

4:04

five seconds. People have been throwing

4:06

around this line since the time

4:08

of the Caesars, and it was

4:10

just as stupid then as it

4:12

is now. When you look at

4:15

it closely, you realize this argument's

4:17

just another way of saying that

4:19

all secrets are bad, that privacy

4:21

is only for criminals or people

4:23

doing something sinful, or people doing

4:25

something sinful. The secrets between romantic

4:28

partners or close friends, they build

4:30

trust and intimacy. The secrets between

4:32

doctors and patients create a space

4:34

where people can be honest about

4:36

their health and about their fears.

4:39

The secret between business associates protects

4:41

innovation. It keeps creative ideas from

4:43

being stolen by competitors. Secrets aren't

4:45

sinful. And really, how interesting can

4:47

you be if you don't have

4:49

any secrets? The problem is that

4:52

all of our personal information today

4:54

exist in snippets. And when taken

4:56

out of context, these snippets can

4:58

be twisted, misinterpreted, or weaponized against

5:00

us. And in the internet age,

5:02

this happens constantly. People make snap

5:05

judgments. Bad actors manipulate narratives, reputation,

5:07

damaging leaks happen in seconds. So

5:09

no, it's not about hiding anything.

5:11

It's about controlling how we're seen

5:13

and making sure our private lives

5:15

aren't distorted or exploited by people

5:18

who don't have our best interest

5:20

at heart. Three quick ways

5:22

to protect your privacy right now. First,

5:24

cover your webcam on your laptop and

5:26

on your home machine. This might sound

5:29

paranoid until you realize that hackers can

5:31

and do hijack webcams all the time.

5:33

A simple slide cover or even a

5:35

piece of black tape can block prying

5:37

eyes. It costs like two bucks. Think

5:39

about some of the more intimate things

5:41

you might do in front of your

5:44

laptop. Now think about the things your

5:46

kids, your partners, or your loved ones

5:48

might also do. Do you want a

5:50

stranger in a position to record that?

5:52

I don't know one person who works

5:54

in tech that doesn't have a slide

5:57

over their laptop, and you should too.

5:59

Second, use old-school pass codes. for your

6:01

phone, not face ID or fingerprints. A

6:03

six-digit pass code for your phone might

6:05

feel old school, but it's still one

6:07

of the most effective ways to keep

6:09

your data locked down. Biometric security like

6:12

face ID and fingerprints may feel futuristic,

6:14

but they're getting easier to hack. Nobody

6:16

can hack your brain. You can be

6:18

forced legally and physically to unlock your

6:20

phone with your face or your fingerprint,

6:22

but it's way harder to make you

6:25

just spit out your pass code. And

6:27

third. Open your phone and go check

6:29

your app permissions right now. Because there's

6:31

a really good chance that some app

6:33

on your phone actually has access to

6:35

your microphone or your camera and it

6:38

doesn't need that access. Some apps default

6:40

to just always listening or always tracking.

6:42

So go take two minutes, check your

6:44

settings, and shut off any unnecessary access

6:46

your apps might have. You'll be shocked

6:48

sometimes to find what's running actually in

6:50

the background. None of these things are

6:53

drastic steps. They're low effort, high reward

6:55

ways to instantly boost your privacy. If

6:57

you want change, make privacy profitable. In

6:59

America, money talks. We need to show

7:01

companies that they can get rich by

7:03

protecting privacy. The good news is that

7:06

this is already happening. Have you seen

7:08

an Apple commercial in the last couple

7:10

of years? They built an entire ad

7:12

campaign around the slogan, Privacy, that's iPhone.

7:14

Google, as well, runs ad for privacy

7:16

all the time. If you've been on

7:18

a subway or a bus in a

7:21

major metro area lately, clever ads for

7:23

VP or everywhere. Privacy is now a

7:25

commodity and the market is responding. Privacy

7:27

first products, VPNs, encrypted messaging apps, password

7:29

managers, these things are booming. Do you

7:31

know that the fastest growing company in

7:34

America in 2020 was a firm that

7:36

helps build privacy plans for businesses? You

7:38

know why? It's because consumers are demanding

7:40

it. So many privacy invasions are about

7:42

money. And if we want real lasting

7:44

change, we also need to make privacy

7:46

profitable. That means spending money on privacy-first

7:49

products and calling out companies that exploit

7:51

your data, because bad press does hurt

7:53

their bottom line. If you want companies

7:55

to care... about privacy make it worth

7:57

their while, because if you're betting on

7:59

Congress to fix this, you might be

8:02

waiting a really long time. Privacy isn't

8:04

dead. People say all the time that

8:06

privacy is dead, and to those people

8:08

that say, hand your unlocked phone to

8:10

a stranger for five minutes and try

8:12

not to have a panic attack. If

8:15

privacy truly were dead, cybersecurity wouldn't be

8:17

a trillion dollar industry. Companies spend fortunes

8:19

protecting their data. Governments guard their secrets.

8:21

Even the people who claim they don't

8:23

care about privacy still use pass codes,

8:25

delete messages, and think twice before posting

8:27

certain things online. I've never met anybody

8:30

who wants their text messages exposed to

8:32

the public or their emails or their

8:34

search history. The truth of it is

8:36

we have way less privacy than we

8:38

used to, and people were exhausted. They've

8:40

been told privacy is dead for so

8:43

long, they don't know what to fight

8:45

for anymore. So let's get real about

8:47

it. Instead of making privacy some impossible

8:49

all-or-nothing battle, we need to cut through

8:51

the noise and focus on what kind

8:53

of privacy actually matters to people, what

8:55

they instinctively protect in their daily lives.

8:58

And because this issue has become so

9:00

tangled, the last thing we need is

9:02

some academic jargon or over-complication. And I

9:04

say this as a professor. What people

9:06

need are clear practical solutions. The first

9:08

step to protecting privacy is being able

9:11

to explain why it matters in a

9:13

way that anyone can understand. That's what

9:15

this very short book is. It's a

9:17

practical guide written in plain-spoken language that

9:19

cuts through the complexity. So if you've

9:21

ever felt overwhelmed by privacy debates or

9:24

know someone who has, this book was

9:26

written with you in mind. Please give

9:28

it a read or consider giving it

9:30

as a gift to that person in

9:32

your life who seems a bit paranoid

9:34

about all this, and let's start having

9:36

smarter, sainer conversations about privacy, because it's

9:39

not that. Privacy matters. And it is

9:41

worth protecting. Thank

9:45

you, Lawrence. Okay, everyone, you can get a

9:47

copy of On Privacy wherever you get your

9:49

books. If you could use some more life

9:51

and career advice, go to next big idea

9:53

club.com to check out our hardback subscription club.

9:55

We'll send you the best news. non

9:57

-fiction books as chosen

9:59

by our our Adam Grant,

10:02

Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Pink

10:04

and Susan Susan Kane. That's

10:06

Next Big .com. I'm I'm Michael

10:08

Kavenat. Hope to see

10:10

you tomorrow. tomorrow.