>But in the context of this thread, where a company was threatening to do this in a developed democratic country, that is not an issue, is it?
Along with some other parts of your comment, I can only ask, are you really that naive? Governments can change, laws can change, societies can become more sinister, along with their governing institutions. Look no further than the United States right now for something of a haphazard example, but many others from history and the modern world abound.
It's not about a given context not being risky, it's about a fundamental right to have one's own private business respected firmly, so long as it doesn't materially or physically harm others, being entrenched enough that it's hard to remove even when the state and society go bad.
The same goes for your last comment: Defending one's privacy on nothing more than how supposedly unlikely it is that others would be interested in your personal habits is a downright stupidly bad idea, and yes, it can easily turn into a big deal if something changes.
Along with some other parts of your comment, I can only ask, are you really that naive? Governments can change, laws can change, societies can become more sinister, along with their governing institutions. Look no further than the United States right now for something of a haphazard example, but many others from history and the modern world abound.
It's not about a given context not being risky, it's about a fundamental right to have one's own private business respected firmly, so long as it doesn't materially or physically harm others, being entrenched enough that it's hard to remove even when the state and society go bad.
The same goes for your last comment: Defending one's privacy on nothing more than how supposedly unlikely it is that others would be interested in your personal habits is a downright stupidly bad idea, and yes, it can easily turn into a big deal if something changes.