None of Your Business: World Data Flows, Electronic Commerce, and the European Privacy Directive Peter P. Swire & Robert E. Litan
B. Some Reasons for Data Protection Laws. Before plunging into the Directive and its potential effects, it is useful to understand why laws have emerged in recent decades -- not only in the United States but elsewhere throughout the world -- to govern uses of personal data. And perhaps the best, although admittedly overdrawn, way to do this is by imagining a privacy
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advocate's worst nightmare -- the presence of an Orwellian, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ all-knowing computer, which contains a complete dossier on every individual in a society.
"Overdrawn?" Methinks Peter and Robert are on the outside, looking in. Forwarded from the London Telegraph: -----------------------------------------------------------
Daily Telegraph Connected Supplement 16th December 1997
A European Commission report warns that the United States has developed an extensive spying network on European Citizens and we should all be worried, reports Simon Davies.
A global electronic spy network that can eavesdrop on every telephone,email and telex communication around the world will be officially acknowledged for the first time in a European Commission report to be delivered this week.
Of course, anyone who suggests that they would use this information to compile a complete dossier on everyone in sociey is a paranoid lunatic, just as those who suggested the above *before* it became an open secret were paranoid lunatics.
Briefly consider what sorts of harms might occur if such a computer existed. If the computer were controlled by the government, then individuals might feel chilled by constant surveillance. They might fear government would use the computer to retaliate against its political enemies. They might be afraid that those who controlled the computer would become an unaccountable ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ elite, whose command over secret files would help entrench themselves in ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ power. ^^^^^
Are Peter P. Swire & Robert E. Litan the *real* Author of 'The True Story of the InterNet'? Is this why no one has ever seen them and TruthMonger together?
The fears hardly disappear if the computer were controlled by corporations in the private sector. In that case, private actors would gain extraordinary power vis-a-vis the government. Meanwhile, corporate-controlled computers can be just as invasive of personal privacy as those controlled by government.
Can you say "Fascism?" Sure you can...
What should be a society's response to these doomsday scenarios of the all-knowing computer? To the extent the scenarios are plausible, society should seek ways to prevent and correct the abuses of power that can occur with centralized control over information by the public and private sectors.
"Society?" Is "society" ready and willing to spend five *extra* years in prison for the use of encryption and/or anonymity in the commission of such crimes as exporting strong encryption? Is "society" ready and willing to fight the battles of tomorrow, *today*? "If you meet Dan Rather on the road, kill him."
On the other hand, there may be important reasons why the doomsday scenarios will not occur, and especially reasons for doubting that information technologies inevitably lead to centralization of control over information. As we explain in detail in subsequent chapters, both the United States and European Union have taken steps to address the perceived risks caused by individuals' loss of control over their personal information.
Excuse me? We can expect to be 'saved' by governments which have already taken away our basic human rights, and who continue to do so in increasing quantum leaps? We can expect to be 'saved' by Jim Bell's government? Or by the Branch Davidian's government? Or by the government which arrested and maced its citizens for possession of signs saying "Freedom & Liberty" during the APEC summit where unelected dictators met with elected dictators to divvy up the world's financial spoils? "We're from Adolf Hitler's government, and we're here to help you..." NEWS FLASH!!! The inevitable forced march to centralized information and centralized power over the face of the globe will be successfully resisted only as it has been done so in the past, through the efforts of Revolutionaries and Warriors. This time, by Digital Revolutionists and InfoWarriors. Who is going to inform the public of what is taking place in the secret war against the citizens? The Desert Storm reportwhores? The mainstream media who whipped the public into being outraged by the sight of the bodies of US soldiers being dragged through the streets of Somalia, while ignoring the stories of Somalian mothers with babies in their arms being slaughtered by those US soldiers? What segment of "society" is going to rise up in protest against the outrages of the future? The segment that watched JFK, RFK, MLK, et al, be slaughtered by the Dark Allies, and slept comfortably with mainstream media visions of lone gunmen and Magic Bullets dancing in their heads? The segment that watched the Iranian hostages responsible for the election of RR and his CIA running mate being released on the same day as RayGun's and BushWhacker's inauguration, and never smelled a ratfucker? The segment that can sleep comfortably after watching their government burn to death the men, women and children of a religious group targeted for persecution? The segment whose best revolutionary efforts have been to make feeble attempts to fight yesterday's battles years after they have already been lost, and the lies, hypocrisy and dark intentions of our government masters begin to become public? The Revolution is Now! Tommorrow's battles are already being won today by secret government agencies and unelected secret commissions who control the reality seen by the citizens through the mainstream electronic opiate of the masses. The tools of encryption and anonymity are the weapons of the Digital Revolution. Software sabotage and backdoors are the secret battles of the InfoWarrior. Warez is the lifeline that provides InfoWarriors with the tools necessary to fight with the latest available weapons. The Clipper Chip is a digital implant. The V Chip is a digital implant. The Save A Missing Child Chip will be a digital implant. Orwell and Kafka saw the Beast. Saint John the Divine saw the Great Beast...the Global Beast. Those who do not learn from the future, are doomed to live it... TruthKidMonger |<---->| 8" "If this is the revolution, why are the drink prices so high?" ~ Patron at New York City guerilla bar