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Strength in numbers
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Each person who chooses to resist mass surveillance with encryption makes it easier for others to resist as well. People normalizing the use of strong encryption has multiple powerful effects: it means those who need privacy the most, like potential whistle-blowers and activists, are more likely to learn about encryption. More people using encryption for more things also makes it harder for surveillance systems to single out those that can't afford to be found, and shows solidarity with those people.
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People you respect may already be using encryption
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Many journalists, whistleblowers, activists, and researchers use GnuPG, so your friends might unknowingly have heard of a few people who use it already. You can search for "BEGIN PUBLIC KEY BLOCK" + keyword to help make a list of people and organizations who use GnuPG who your community will likely recognize.
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Respect your friends' privacy
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There's no objective way to judge what constitutes a privacy-sensitive correspondence. As such, it's better not to presume that just because you find an email you sent to a friend innocuous, your friend (or a surveillance agent, for that matter!) feels the same way. Show your friends respect by encrypting your correspondences with them.
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Privacy technology is normal in the physical world
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In the physical realm, we take window blinds, envelopes, and closed doors for granted as ways of protecting our privacy. Why should the digital realm be any different?
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We shouldn't have to trust our email providers with our privacy
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Some email providers are very trustworthy, but many have incentives not to protect your privacy and security. To be empowered digital citizens, we need to build our own security from the bottom up.
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