FC: Getting caught on the Net, by Rebecca Eisenberg

[Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>]

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>Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 16:10:15 -0800 (PST)
>From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
>To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu
>Subject: FC: Getting caught on the Net, by Rebecca Eisenberg
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>http://www.examiner.com/skink/skinkJan25.html
>
>San Francisco Examiner  --  Net Skink
>
>Jan 25, 1998
>Getting caught on the Net
>
>A wave of shock has washed over the Net population in the
>past two weeks. What you write on the Internet, people
>realized, can actually get you fired.
>
>First came the news that Timothy McVeigh, not the bomber
>but a 17-year Navy veteran and crew chief on a nuclear
>submarine, was recommended for honorable discharge by the
>Navy for describing himself as gay on his AOL profile.
>
>[...]
>
>For better or for worse, there is not much privacy on-line.
>That is the benefit of free expression -- the free
>expression we won when the Supreme Court overturned the
>overly broad and unconstitutional Communications Decency
>Act. However, freedom of expression does not come with a
>guarantee that everyone will like what you say.
>
>"Privacy is not a right, but a preference," writes Declan
>McCullagh, 26, Internet expert and journalist in
>Washington, D.C. "Some people want it more than others."
>Although we are protected from intrusions by the
>government, the free exchange of information between
>private parties drives the marketplace and the media.
>
>"The best solution to harmful disclosures is to avoid them
>in the first place. Patronize banks, hardware stores and
>Internet providers with strong privacy policies," McCullagh
>says. "Privacy advocates who call for new government powers
>are missing the point. The government intrudes more on our
>privacy than corporations ever can.
>
>"On a more practical note," he continues, "technological
>solutions are the only ones that have half a chance of
>working globally. Maybe after years of lobbying, you get a
>privacy law passed in the U.S., but the Web site you want
>to shut down moves to Anguilla 30 minutes later."
>
>[...]
>
>
>
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