Technology writer Julia Angwin wrote this op-ed piece in today’s Times about the mounting burden on consumers to protect their own privacy.

The more we learn about how our data is being harnessed — and how it may be exploited in the future — the more likely we are to re-evaluate the true cost of these supposedly free services. And some of us will start trying to buy our way out of the trade-your-data-for-services economy.

But, as I have learned, it isn’t cheap or convenient to start buying privacy. I spend annoying amounts of time updating software or trying to resolve technical difficulties when my different privacy-protecting services conflict with one another…

As more privacy-protecting services pop up, we need to consider two important questions: Can we ensure that those who can afford to buy privacy services are not being deceived? And even more important, do we want privacy to be something that only those with disposable money and time can afford?

I’m personally surprised and dismayed by how slow moving the public conversation around privacy has been for the last two decades, even as the intrusions on our privacy have gotten ever more aggressive. Full article here.