J. Michael Diehl writes :
I've been thinking lately. (No, it didn't hurt.) Does privacy have in inherent value, or are "we" simply concerned with what others can do with sensitive information about ourselves?
I am in the midst of reading _The Naked Consumer_ by Erik Larson, and I find myself asking the same questions you are about privacy. I think privacy has an inherent value, distinct from the consequences of information abuse. For example, it doesn't _hurt_ me to get targeted junk mail, but I find it unsettling that direct marketers know enough about me to send the 'right' mail. I see it this way; 'they' make decisions about me and initiate a relationship with me without my knowledge or consent. The relationship is artificial and uneven; 'they' know more about me than I know about 'them'. Even if the relationship does me no real harm, it makes me uncomfortable. So, I value my privacy even though (some? most?) of the time I don't suffer gravely ill effects from the manipulation of what I consider private data. This feeling is what drives me to learn more about PGP and secure transaction systems; ideally, these systems will help conceal some of our private data from (for example) the telemarketing types. [Allow me my dream, at least. :) ] -- ........................................................................ Philippe D. Nave, Jr. | The person who does not use message encryption pdn@dwroll.dw.att.com | will soon be at the mercy of those who DO... Denver, Colorado USA | PGP public key: by arrangement.