Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton)
Subject: Re: The end of privacy... and so what comes next?
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Date: Tue, 02 Apr 91 19:22:25 GMT
Message-ID: <1991Apr02.192225.8159@looking.on.ca>
References: <63473@bbn.BBN.COM> <1991Apr01.052655.3549@looking.on.ca> <4082.27f77d68@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> <1991Apr02.054249.27643@looking.on.ca> <10853@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>

I disagree.   I protecting privacy means that we have "database police" who
can enforce laws about what sort of collections of information you can have
or sell, then we have part of a police state.

I am happy for the government to have database police to police the government
and stop it from collecting information on us in one place -- although the
cynic in me feels that this will nevery be truly effective.

I am not happy to have database police patrolling private citizens.   What
I do in my own computer with correct public information about you is my
business.

The solutions are:
	a) Don't give out that information in a usable way
	b) Define the information as confidential when you do give it out

At first I suggested (b), with implicit terms of confidentiality on most
transactions.   I still support it, but fear the bureaucracy needed to
enforce it if people flaunt it.

Now I lean towards (a), which requires a bureaucracy of sorts, but it is
a private one, and you can have as little or as much as you chose, at your
own discretion and there is an incentive to hide it from the user.
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473