“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say” is a saying that has been printed on many images. It has been credited, in several different forms, to American computer contractor and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. He said this on Reddit—Ask Me Anything on May 21, 2015.
 
It appears that the saying had been used earlier. “Saying you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is just like giving up on free speech because you have nothing to say” was posted on X/Twitter by Ariel Lindosky on January 26, 2011. “@TubbyR giving up privacy because you’ve nothing to hide is the same as giving up freedom of speech because you’ve nothing to say” was posted on X/Twitter by Antonio on June 23, 2013.
 
“‘Saying I don’t care abt privacy coz I’ve nothing to hide is like saying I don’t care abt free speech coz I’ve nothing to say.’ #Snowden” was posted on X/Twitter by timhollo.bsky.social on May 8, 2015. “‘Saying you don’t need privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don’t need freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.’ - Edward Snowden” was posted on Reddit—Quotes on August 15, 2018. “Giving up on privacy, because you’ve got ‘nothing to hide’, is like giving up on freedom of speech, because you’ve got nothing to say” was posted on X/Twitter by Michael - noCult 📴 on January 10, 2021.
   
       
Wikipedia: Nothing to hide argument   
The nothing to hide argument is a logical fallacy which states that individuals have no reason to fear or oppose surveillance programs unless they are afraid it will uncover their own illicit activities. An individual using this argument may claim that an average person should not worry about government surveillance, as they would have “nothing to hide”.
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Criticism
Whistleblower and anti-surveillance advocate Edward Snowden remarked that “Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” From his perspective, governments are obligated to protect citizens’ right to privacy, and people who argue in favor of the nothing to hide argument are too willing to accept government infringement upon those rights.
 
Wikiquote: Edward Snowden 
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American former technical contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who leaked details of several top-secret U.S. and British government mass surveillance programs to the press. His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments.
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Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
. Reddit (May 21, 2015)
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Saying that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about freedom of speech because you have nothing to say. It’s a deeply anti social principle because rights are not just individual, they’re collective, and what may not have value to you today may have value to an entire population, an entire people, an entire way of life tomorrow. And if you don’t stand up for it, then who will?
. Jean-Michel Jarre “Edward Snowden - Exit” (2016)
       
X/Twitter
Ariel Lindosky
@lindosky
Saying you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is just like giving up on free speech because you have nothing to say
9:46 PM · Jan 26, 2011
 
X/Twitter
Antonio
@Antonio_m1chel
@TubbyR giving up privacy because you’ve nothing to hide is the same as giving up freedom of speech because you’ve nothing to say.
7:08 PM · Jun 23, 2013
   
RT
12 Oct, 2014 14:02 Home World News
​‘Hostile to privacy’: Snowden urges internet users to get rid of Dropbox
(From an Edward Snowden interview with The New Yorker.—ed.)
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The whistleblower believes one fallacy in how authorities view individual rights has to do with making the individual forsake those rights by default. Snowden’s point is that the moment you are compelled to reveal that you have nothing to hide is when the right to privacy stops being a right – because you are effectively waiving that right.
 
“When you say, ‘I have nothing to hide,’ you’re saying, ‘I don’t care about this right.’ You’re saying, ‘I don’t have this right, because I’ve got to the point where I have to justify it.’ The way rights work is, the government has to justify its intrusion into your rights – you don’t have to justify why you need freedom of speech.”

X/Twitter
Elizabeth Goitein
@LizaGoitein
#snowdenlive - I don’t care about privacy because I have nothing to hide = I don’t care about free speech because I have nothing to say
12:14 PM · May 2, 2015
 
X/Twitter
Julia Kramer
@julia_kramer
Snowden:“I don’t care about privacy because I have nothing to hide=I don’t care about free speech because I have nothing to say”#SnowdenLive
12:16 PM · May 2, 2015
 
X/Twitter
timhollo.bsky.social
@timhollo
“Saying I don’t care abt privacy coz I’ve nothing to hide is like saying I don’t care abt free speech coz I’ve nothing to say.” #Snowden
4:05 AM · May 8, 2015
 
X/Twitter
Bradley C Hughes
@AngelsInTheAI
#Snowden “I don’t care about privacy because I have nothing to hide same as I don’t care about free speech because I have nothing to say”
4:05 AM · May 8, 2015
   
X/Twitter
🌈Bethany King
@BethandtheKing
Saying I don’t care about privacy bc nothing to hide = saying I don’t care about free speech bc nothing to say. Edward Snowden #Progress2015
4:10 AM · May 8, 2015
   
The Guardian (London, UK)
Edward Snowden: a right to privacy is the same as freedom of speech – video interview
In an exclusive interview from Moscow, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden says people saying they don’t care about rights to privacy because they ‘have nothing to hide’ are no different than people saying ‘I don’t care about freedom of speech because I have nothing to say’. He also questions the reach governments should be able to exercise into people’s lives
Alan Rusbridger, Ewen MacAskill and Janine Gibson, theguardian.com
Fri 22 May 2015 11.45 EDT
In an exclusive interview from Moscow, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden says people saying they don’t care about rights to privacy because they ‘have nothing to hide’ are no different than people saying ‘I don’t care about freedom of speech because I have nothing to say’. He also questions the reach governments should be able to exercise into people’s lives.
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Responding to one of the commonest lines deployed by his critics, he said: “People who say they don’t care about privacy because they have got nothing to hide have not thought too deeply about these issues. What they are really saying is I do not care about this right. When you say I don’t care about the right to privacy because I have nothing to hide, that is no different than saying I don’t care about freedom of speech because I have nothing to say or freedom of the press because I have nothing to write.”
     
MIC
In One Quote, Snowden Just Destroyed the Biggest Myth About Privacy
IMPACT
BY SOPHIE KLEEMAN
MAY 29, 2015
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His visit to Reddit on May 21 was one such example. Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer participated in an “Ask Me Anything” session in which they answered questions from users about Rand Paul, John Oliver and the NSA’s continued surveillance efforts, among other things.

At one point, Snowden brought up a common defense from people who come down on the side of the government: “I don’t care if they violate my privacy; I’ve got nothing to hide.”
 
He then proceeded to obliterate that argument.
 
“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say,” he said.
 
Reddit—Quotes
[deleted]—August 10, 2018
“Saying you don’t need privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don’t need freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.” - Edward Snowden
   
Facebook
Andrew Steven Boima
December 14, 2018 at 11:57 AM ·
To say you don’t care about privacy because you’ve got nothing to hide is like you saying you don’t care about freedom of speech because you’ve nothing to say. @andrewstevenboima @africellsl @africanmall @ayvsierraleone @warriyah @we.are.programmer
 
X/Twitter
Michael - noCult 📴
@FuellMichael
“Giving up on privacy, because you’ve got “nothing to hide”, is like giving up on freedom of speech, because you’ve got nothing to say.”
12:43 AM · Jan 10, 2021
 
X/Twitter
manisa
@DoraaManisa
Giving up on privacy because you have got nothing to hide is like giving up on freedom of speech because you have got nothing to say
10:39 AM · Jan 28, 2022
 
X/Twitter
EthicalScam
@EthicalScamMe
giving up on privacy because you’ve got nothing to hide is like giving up on freedom of speech because you’ve got nothing to say
3:11 PM · May 17, 2024
 
X/Twitter
Rothmus 🏴
@Rothmus
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
Giving up on privacy because
you’ve got ‘nothing to hide’ is
like giving up on freedom of
speech because you’ve got
nothing to say.
2:29 PM · May 17, 2024