Who Watches the Watchers?
Schneier writes brilliantly about privacy and why it matters.
Oddly, the same old tired arguments about why only bad guys need privacy keep coming to light. At enonymous, we knew intrinsically that privacy wasn’t just something for people with something to hide, it was something we all need and all expect — until it’s suddenly taken away. Back in 1999, it was being taken away as the Net started to accelerate, and it hasn’t stopped.
Privacy as an end to itself matters, but there’s far more. At enonymous, we figured the only way people would be willing to give up very personal information for targeted advertising or customized content was anonymity. It made alot of sense then and it still does now. Strangely, the public’s interest and concern in privacy went away quickly after 2000, but maybe now as we learn about the NSA, that concern will be back. I hope so. For privacy’s sake, but for the sake too of personalization done right.
