You Can Say NO
Brief
You Can Say NO
Photo: Gabby K / Pexels
In the age of facial recognition and age verification, it might feel like our data is being harvested left and right, completely outside our control or consent. Yet, we still have a powerful weapon to fight back against surveillance: The power to say no.
The power to say no is one we severely underutilize. Of course, there are circumstances where it can be difficult (impossible even!) to refuse. Saying no can come at a cost, but this isn't true everywhere, and (more importantly) that cost might be worth paying.
There are many occasions where we could indeed refuse to comply with privacy-invasive requests, but miss the opportunity.
However, it is vital as a community and as individuals that we exercise this right every time we possibly can, if we want to stand a fighting chance against the normalization of mass surveillance.