'Anti-privacy' activist launches Kickstarter project to broadcast his life online

When it comes to the issue of privacy, the general consensus is that it’s an inalienable right currently under threat. For Noah Dyer, it’s an impediment to a better society. In hopes of proving his point, the 33-year-old self-described anti-privacy activist is hoping to raise $300,000 on Kickstarter to broadcast every waking moment of his life for a year.

Dyer subscribes to the philosophy that too much privacy can actually be a bad thing.

“Secrets exist to prevent other people from acting as they would if they had complete information,” he wrote on his Kickstarter campaign page.

“I believe that the type of government and society that will persevere… is a government that does not recognize the right to privacy, but rather says that everyone in a society has the right to perfect information, so that they can act according to their own best interest,” Dyer added.

Dyer told Fusion he was heavily influenced by the Edward Snowden leaks, which revealed the extent of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance activities.

“Our expectation of privacy is being eroded on a daily basis and I don’t think we can stop the information gathering from happening,” he said. “Fighting against that reality is a losing proposition.”

Instead, Dyer argued, society should be advocating to have access to any and all information.

“When all information is known, everyone can act according to their best interests,” he explained, hinting at a psychologically proven notion that people behave better when they feel like they’re being watched.

The Kickstarter project is a way to test his theory. For $1, backers would have video access to every moment of his life for a year. The experiment is parts “The Truman Show” and Dave Egger’s “The Circle,” a novel in which a powerful company encourages people to “go transparent” by livestreaming.

Dyer is aware that he’s going against the grain. For starters, his campaign has received very little support (since launching on Friday, the project has raised $118 out of the $300,000 goal). He also mentioned that he’s been met with hostility when talking about the project.

Even if he doesn’t get the funding, Dyer said he’ll still find a way to broadcast his life in the hopes of initiating a conversation about privacy.

“I’m advocating it seriously and genuinely and there’s no one really talking about it,” he added. “This can change that.”

Fidel Martinez is an editor at Fusion.net. He’s also a Texas native and a lifelong El Tri fan.