possibly noteworthy wrote:
Simson Garfinkel:
Privacy matters.
This is an odd article - he pays a lot of lip service to the need for systems that protect privacy but his fundamental arguments are in support of TIA and for a national electronic ID system that will allow the government to impose all kinds of different requirements on electronic communities like this one, and he doesn't even do a great job of explaining why he likes the later.
Nevertheless, there is some truth to the notion that it would be easier for the government to erect these systems of control if people believed that the government took personal privacy and civil liberties seriously. Thats a bit difficult to swallow when the government engages in widespread illegal surveillance programs that target americans and, when caught, simply modifies the law to exempt their behavior from liability. The United States Government has a very deep hole to dig out of if they want people to trust them about privacy.
