I’ve recently come across a lot of posts questioning data and privacy regulations. What is more common among them to describe privacy regulation as failed or worthless is that the dis-services we might use need that data to function.

That is far from truth. No flashlight app needs to access my contact list. No shopping site needs access to my microphone. No museum needs to know where I’m precisely located to show me a famous painting. Privacy regulation is exactly for that.

Privacy regulation is not there to make sites dysfunction, it’s there so the site won’t sell my personal information to data brokers. It’s there to make sure my privacy won’t be violated solely because I bought a new mobile phone.

My privacy is valuable to me and it should be protected. Regulation is there to protect my rights while also giving you a choice. You can consent to data collection and I can tell the dis-service to not to do so. It’s a choice, much like free speech.

I want my freedom of expression no matter what. Now I can choose to say something or be quiet but I want this right to be protected. Much like that, data should be regulated so you can choose to share it or not and also reverse the choice if you change your mind.

EU, no matter what some people might say, is the leading continent on protecting its people regarding data and privacy and I admire their work. It might not be complete, it might need a lot of work to be as good as it needs to be, but their work is nonetheless admirable.

Privacy and data should be protected, regulated, and violators should be punished. It’s the way it should be and I hope it’s the direction all countries take. We should force our lawmen to follow that route and we should help them with civil protests against violators of our privacy.

Specially now, that free (as in freedom) tech had a lot of progress and made it possible for people to experience same experiences and technologies without being forced to give away their personal information to giant corporations and data brokers.