david brin spoke in ann arbor recently at a library science school alumni meeting. his talk was titled "Information and the 21st Century: Privacy, Wealth and the Newest Threat to Freedom." here are my recollections; hopefully they're not too dim or biased. getting right to the punch line, tNTtF is this: privacy laws will be used as a weapon by the Rich and Powerful to restrict the free flow of information. brin feels that privacy laws will be ineffective against the RaP, will be sold to the rest of us through effective propaganda, and that they will be used by the RaP as a means to cement their power base. he argues that complete and open access to information provides the greatest social benefit and best serves The American Dream. asked about clipper, he suggested that key escrow was exactly the sort of tool that the RaP would use, and that we would all benefit by banning cryptography. asked whether private citizens should be barred from insuring personal electronic privacy, he replied that he felt that such measures would be ineffective agianst the RaP. (i concluded from these answers that cryptography is not brin's strong point.) brin's message was basically a populist one. he is concerned that the moguls of data will have the opportunity to control what we see and hear. what i found most fascinating about his talk was that while i generally agree with the social objectives he backs, i am in 180 degree disagreement on how to accomplish these ends. peter ps: anybody else get the willies (as it were) reading paul goggin's note about foia, where the asst atty genl was asked about fbi foias against individuals, and replied that the new foia regs presumed disclosure? hey brin, there oughtta be a law!