Re: Privacy: Law, Custom, and Technology

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 12:22 AM -0700 7/23/97, Bill Frantz wrote:

>I'm not sure I agree that the evolution of custom can not be accelerated.
>If we actively discuss the proper limits to use of private information, are
>we not accelerating the development of consensus about what are reasonable
>policies.  It is precisely the lack of such discussion, and the lack of
>trust that accompanies it that leaves us in the situation we find ourselves
>in; between the well defined Netiquette of the ARPANET days, and whatever
>our commercial net will evolve.
>
>There are a lot of choices.  For example:
>
>(1) Don't remember anything about me as an individual.
>(2) Don't share any individual data.
>(3) Feel free to share, but leave my name off.
>(4) Sell the data, but give me a piece of the action.
>
>I can imagine that any of these will be acceptable to some people.

But these "agreements" have two sides.

None of the four choices you list are of any interest to me, for example,
and whether you find them acceptable is of no interest to me.

(I am not trying to be rude to Bill, just making the point forcefully that
I don't particularly care that these four choices are acceptable to "some
people.")

I of course remember _lots_ of things about people, I share those memories
on occasion (without requesting permission), I mention names, and I
certainly don't recall every giving one of the subjects of my memories a
cut of the action.

In a free society, it is not possible or acceptable to control what others
remember or gossip about. Or even sell commercially.

"Custom" only applies to those who adopt the custom--the "law" is for
everyone else. The question is: do we have a law demanding that people not
remember certain things, or not gossip about what they've observed? I think
even a totalitarian society will have well-known problems enforcing such
laws.

I'd've thought this obvious, but Bill's post makes me wonder.

--Tim May

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."