Comments on: Big brother in real?

By: Roderik

Roderik — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:53:55 +0000

This is a nice article countering the “I’ve got nothing to hide” argument:

‘I’ve Got Nothing to Hide’ and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy

DANIEL J. SOLOVE
George Washington University Law School

Abstract:
In this short essay, written for a symposium in the San Diego Law Review, Professor Daniel Solove examines the nothing to hide argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: I’ve got nothing to hide. According to the nothing to hide argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The nothing to hide argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the nothing to hide argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings.

Download here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565#PaperDownload

By: Person

Person — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:38:13 +0000

We’re all criminals in this age of big brother. I can’t wait until the day arrives when it will all go wrong and a moronic dictator kills everyone he doesn’t like.

Will it be Bush? Or his friend Bin Laden? Or perhaps Ahmadinejad? What about Putin? Or even Balkenende. Who knows.

*puts on his tinfoil hat

By: Nona

Nona — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:14:07 +0000

Aluminium foil is your friend

By: me

me — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:54:00 +0000

If you use fingerprints for authenticating something important to you, remember you just gave the bartender your password, just as well as the lady that cleans the toilets. Iris/face scans can be fooled just as well by photographs.

How about letting the government bear the cost of failing on this worthless type of authentication.

Oh, and RFID? It’s invasive, but make sure you turn off your cellphone before worrying about that.