Reading the cypherpunk manifesto

"Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world"

https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html

(history is important and people don't even begin to realize how these little weirdo documents from thoughtful nerds have shaped our current society)

"In most cases personal identity is not salient. When I purchase a magazine at a store and hand cash to the clerk, there is no need to know who I am."

"When I ask my electronic mail provider to send and receive messages, my provider need not know to whom I am speaking or what I am saying or what others are saying to me; my provider only need know how to get the message there and how much I owe them in fees."

"For privacy to be widespread it must be part of a social contract. People must come and together deploy these systems for the common good. Privacy only extends so far as the cooperation of one's fellows in society. "

The cypherpunk manifesto was written in 1993 with a somewhat idyllic vision of how we could build a safe and autonomous internet

But the fears Hughes had of governments and corporations interfering with privacy and speech have come true. It's time for something new.