The Israeli sociolist Etzoni claims that the government is so trustworthy that civilians don’t have to be scared when their privacy is taken away from them. It seems that he has a lot of support among the Dutch politicians.
Yes, of course it is the wet dream of every government to have access to all information about someone in one mouse click, no matter if this information is relevant or not.
First thing that comes to mind is: Who guards the guardians? In this case clearly nobody! And so we are ourselves responsible for this. But with all the measures the government takes “to protect us against terrorism” the individual privacy will break down more and more.
Sure, terrorism needs to be taken care of. But realize that the change that you will die by a traffic accident or a fatal disease is many times bigger then a death by a act of terrorism. So I think I know where the priorities should be… Clearly not this main focus on terrorism (and specially not how it is used by leaders of many countries, Europe and The Netherlands included).
1984? Big brother? Not far away fiction, but close by reality.
Strange enough (or maybe not that strange) many IT specialists are very concerned about the current threats for human privacy. They know the possibilities to connect databases and set relations between them, even when these databases are stored on great distance from each other.
Mostly they also realise the risks of this kind of things. One has only to think of misinterpretation of data, accessibility of data, security of data to mention a few.
Sure, there are enough people who are also worried about their privacy. But a majority doesn’t even care, if they realise at all what is going on.
Sadly many people relate a demand for privacy to that you must have something to hide. It is the other way around. That I see no need that someone else knows all about me, doesn’t mean I have something to hide. It is just not their matter to know all about me.
And lets be honest, everyone has something to hide… your employer who shouldn’t you are looking for new job… your partner who should not know about that night you really misbehaved when you where younger… the neighbors who don’t have to know with bars you visit in the weekend… and so and so. Small examples, but that is also privacy! Take it a to a higher level and you know what the privacy I am talking about. Think about examples as physical privacy (as searching your bags without real reason or the use of your DNA), information privacy (the way governments or organizations handle our personal information as age, addresses, sexual preference, political opinion and so on) or freedom from excessive surveillance (our right to go about our daily lives without being surveilled or having all our action caught on camera).
Privacy is important to have and to protect…
And yes:
“People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.”
(Credit photo: Red Bubble)
Well said Mr. Benjamin Franklin
:)
Just yesterday I found out that Benjamin Franklin never said that. I did read that on the Wiki. It seems that it was often claimed he said things he never really said.
But it doesn’t make the quote less true!
Wiki? What is that?
Thanks about the nice chat we had on MSN about the subject, Rob :P
LOL you must have the RSS-thingy also active at work? (I have many news sources added to it and of course my blog :P)
Anyway the Wiki is the Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.nl/), a online encyclopaedia maintained by “normal” people. Very useful.
And yes, the chat was nice yesterday. It was not to convince Marion or you, but just make more aware about it.
Well, that’s the problem with history. It’s not the facts that survive, but the imagination of the people who document it.
And Wiki is one great twist in the recording of history :D
Surely I heard before of all these anti-terrorisme actions, but I never thought really futher about it. Seems there is a lot more behind it. Something to think about.
Sanne, I want your RSS-thingie too :).