X-POP3-Rcpt: declan@relay.pathfinder.com Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 16:10:15 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu Subject: FC: Getting caught on the Net, by Rebecca Eisenberg MIME-Version: 1.0 Sender: owner-politech@vorlon.mit.edu Reply-To: declan@well.com X-Loop: politech@vorlon.mit.edu X-URL: Politech is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/
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http://www.examiner.com/skink/skinkJan25.html
San Francisco Examiner -- Net Skink
Jan 25, 1998 Getting caught on the Net
A wave of shock has washed over the Net population in the past two weeks. What you write on the Internet, people realized, can actually get you fired.
First came the news that Timothy McVeigh, not the bomber but a 17-year Navy veteran and crew chief on a nuclear submarine, was recommended for honorable discharge by the Navy for describing himself as gay on his AOL profile.
[...]
For better or for worse, there is not much privacy on-line. That is the benefit of free expression -- the free expression we won when the Supreme Court overturned the overly broad and unconstitutional Communications Decency Act. However, freedom of expression does not come with a guarantee that everyone will like what you say.
"Privacy is not a right, but a preference," writes Declan McCullagh, 26, Internet expert and journalist in Washington, D.C. "Some people want it more than others." Although we are protected from intrusions by the government, the free exchange of information between private parties drives the marketplace and the media.
"The best solution to harmful disclosures is to avoid them in the first place. Patronize banks, hardware stores and Internet providers with strong privacy policies," McCullagh says. "Privacy advocates who call for new government powers are missing the point. The government intrudes more on our privacy than corporations ever can.
"On a more practical note," he continues, "technological solutions are the only ones that have half a chance of working globally. Maybe after years of lobbying, you get a privacy law passed in the U.S., but the Web site you want to shut down moves to Anguilla 30 minutes later."
[...]
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