Glenn Greenwald: Why privacy matters

Glenn Greenwald was one of the first reporters to see — and write about — the Edward Snowden files, with their revelations about the United States' extensive surveillance of private citizens. In this searing talk, Greenwald makes the case for why you need to care about privacy, even if you’re “not doing anything you need to hide."

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

[catlover]

" he who does not move, does not notice his chains" a very powerful quote

[Farstar]

For all who value freedom, this is well worth your time to consume. Excellent work.

[angelic]

Finally someone who could articulate what I have been thinking all this time. Bravo!
I will use this talk as a response to anyone in the future who are in denial about this problem.

[sllimthg]

Every time I watch Glenn Greenwald I learn something. I love this man.

[GGShinobi]

14:28 "... the measure of how free a society is is not how it treats its' good, obedient, compliant citizens, but how it treats its' dissidents and those who resist orthodoxy." What a strong, great quote. So true.

[AhmadUibai]

Before watching the video, I was one of those people who felt that “only if you do bad acts do you need privacy”. However, after the multiple valid points the speaker has brought up, I can safely say that privacy is truly needed and that today’s society does lack the minimal amount of privacy that every human should be entitled to; I agree with the speaker. Every single person deserves to have a certain amount of privacy in their lives. As the speaker said, “all of us have things to hide”. These things need not be bad things. It could simply be things that we are not comfortable sharing with others. However, with the internet, nothing is private. Using certain tools, anybody can find out anything about anybody. As long as that person uses the internet in some way, he will have released some information about him. I feel that this is both good and bad. It is bad as it violates the basic amount of privacy one should have but at the same time it is good as it keeps ‘bad’ people in check. Thus, the status quo of privacy on the internet can and should be improved on.
200 words, Ahmad Uibaidillah, CMM/TB04

[anewtrend]

116 NSA workers thought this was troubling.

Powerful hurrah at the end. What an intelligent man.

[dannyduchamp]

I've never had more of my opinions changed in 20 minutes.

[vaibhavgupta]

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

[Butterworthy]

From beginning to end this was a FANTASTIC TED talk! Definitely stowing this one away in my favorites.

[theawesomegamr]

I've seen easily over 200 (or maybe more) ted talks, and although so many of them are so incredible and mind opening, this one honestly has to be my #1 favorite. I strongly hope that this becomes one of Ted talks most viewed videos, because it's a video I wish every American could see.

[jacobnelson]

“The measure of how free a society is not how they treat it’s good obedient compliant citizens, but how it treats its dissidents and those who resist orthodoxy”

[savedfaves]

He's an absolute legend. We owe the government nothing. They owe us everything.

[IMZusic]

I agree with what Glenn Greenwald has said about privacy being important, and is not just for the “bad people”. In the past, I used to think that people should not be afraid of others invading their privacy if they did not have a guilty conscience. 
However, what I’ve really learnt is that everyone actually needs privacy in their lives. An example of people needing privacy is when they lock the door when they are in the bathroom. Almost everyone who goes to the bathroom lock the door, but is there anything wrong that? Most the time, the answer is no. The reason why people lock the door is because they do not want others to see the things they are doing, even though those things are not wrong.
As human beings, it is a natural instinct to crave for privacy. Whenever we know we are being watched by someone, we are at our best behaviour, trying to paint the image that we are “good”. However, if we are constantly watched, this result in the lack of freedom as “mass surveillance creates a prison in the mind”. Thus, privacy is really important because it is the roots of our freedom.

(200 words, Isaac Mak, CMM/TB02)

[sarahcrane]

It's about being respectful of someone's space and acknowledging everyone has a right to privacy. Respecting people's boundaries 👌💪💞

[patrickcostello]

He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake!

[julshz]

Privacy rights are human rights. Thank you Glenn.

[bgtubber]

I've been noticing lately that privacy is becoming cool again and it's refreshing to see. More and more people are getting aware of how important it is and why they should care.

[allypoum]

Excellent talk. Glen Greenwald, along with Jeremy Scahill, are two of the most courageous and effective journalists on the current international stage and they are doing what journalists are supposed to do - informing the masses about important stuff that affects them and holding power to account. They have my maximum respect.

[EBR]

This is one of the greatest talks I've ever heard. Glenn Greenwald nailed it. Thank you for this, Mr. Greenwald.