On Mon, 11 Nov 1996, Hal Finney wrote:
Black Unicorn makes a lot of good points regarding privacy. One thing I wanted to follow up on:
Unfortunately, in the United States most citizens only become interested in privacy in their 20s or so. By this time it is difficult to overcome the mass of information which has been stored up. (Pseudocide can be an attractive option for some perhaps).
I have two kids entering their teens, and I'm sure other list members are parents as well. What can we do for our children to help them enter their adult lives with better chances to retain privacy? Unicorn mentions keeping them absent from school on picture day, although I'm not sure how much this helps. I suppose it makes it harder for an investigator to find out what they look(ed) like. Then when they get old enough to drive you have a new problem avoiding the photo (and thumbprint) on the license.
Yearbooks are literally a publication. If you wish to be extreme about privacy, it is hardly prudent to allow your children's name and face to be linked in a widely diseminated publication. Fingerprints are not mandatory, or even requested, on all driver's licenses. Many states do not keep copies of the photos. The only records available are name, DOB, etc. (Illinois was one of these, but I haven't checked lately).
Are there other measures which parents could take while their children are young to get them off to a good start, privacy-wise?
Avoid getting a social security number. You can list them as dependents for several years if you stall with the IRS about their social security number. The worst I have even seen the IRS do is send (rather bland) letters complaining about the number being in error. They hardly have time to follow up on each one. And if they do, failing to apply for a number is hardly a crime. Each parent could easily say "I thought you did it." "No, honey, you did." "No, I didn't." The auditer would kick you out of the office.
Hal
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