Two Pieces on Privacy

As luck would have it, I’ve got two new pieces out today on two very different privacy debates. First, in the latest issue of TechKnowledge, which is based on my Computing in the Cloud talk, I argue that privacy policy should be focused on empowering consumers to make their own decisions about privacy tradeoffs, rather than having government bureaucrats decide which information companies should collect and how it can be used. I discuss three cases—cookies, GMail, and Facebook’s newsfeed—where initial privacy concerns turned out to be overblown, and one—Beacon—where they weren’t.

Second, in a new piece for Reason, I chide Democrats for capitulating on civil liberties. I point out that Congress wasn’t always so spineless:

Bush’s predecessor was also an ardent supporter of increased wiretapping authority. For example, on July 29, 1996, Bill Clinton unveiled a proposal to expand government surveillance by permitting the use of “roving wiretaps.” The nation was still reeling from terrorist attacks on the Atlanta Olympics and American barracks in Saudi Arabia, and many suspected that the explosion of TWA Flight 800 was also the work of terrorists. Clinton argued that these tragedies highlighted the need for legislative changes, and he pressed Congress to act before its August recess.

But Congress had a bipartisan tradition of its own to defend. As they had done since Watergate, Congressional leaders raised concerns about civil liberties. Then-Speaker Newt Gingrich said he was willing to consider changes to the law, but vowed to do so “in a methodical way that preserves our freedoms.” Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott vowed that Congress would not “rush to a final judgment” before going on vacation. In the end, the 104th Congress finished its term without giving President Clinton the wiretapping authority he sought.

It’s a little depressing that Harry Reid is less concerned with civil liberties than Trent Lott was a decade ago.

SHARE: 1 comment