The US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will be having a public all-day meeting on November 12th on exactly this: "Defining Privacy".
http://www.pclob.gov/newsroom/20141020/ I've been to their meetings before, in person here in DC, and I find some (not all) of the board members to be in sync with many (not all) of the norms of the privacy and security community. They've also hosted a number of guests from civil society, on panels and to submit oral/written questions, that I've been glad to see have a prominent voice in the process. -- Eric On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 12:20 PM, Jason Iannone <jason.iann...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thank you, Maarten and others who responded off list. I have some new > sources to consume and I appreciate your input. > > Jason > > On Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 10:40 PM, Maarten Billemont <lhun...@lyndir.com> > wrote: > > On Oct 21, 2014, at 22:22, Jason Iannone <jason.iann...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > > On a fundamental level I wonder why privacy is important and why we > > should care about it. Privacy advocates commonly cite pervasive > > surveillance by businesses and governments as a reason to change an > > individual's behavior. Discussions are stifled and joking references > > to The List are made. The most relevant and convincing issues are > > documented cases of chilled expression from authors, artists, > > activists, and average Andrews. Other concerns deal with abuse, ala > > LOVEINT, etc. Additional arguments tend to be obfuscated by nuance > > and lack any striking insight. > > > > The usual explanations, while appropriately concerning, don't do it > > for me. After scanning so many articles, journal papers, and NSA > > surveillance documents, fundamental questions remain: What is privacy? > > How is it useful? How am I harmed by pervasive surveillance? Why do > > I want privacy (to the extent that I'm willing to take operational > > measures to secure it)? > > > > I read a paper by Julie Cohen for the Harvard Law Review called What > > Privacy is For[1] that introduced concepts I hadn't previously seen on > > paper. She describes privacy as a nebulous space for growth. Cohen > > suggests that in private, we can make mistakes with impunity. We are > > self-determinate and define our own identities free of external > > subjective forces. For an example of what happens without the > > impunity and self-determination privacy provides, see what happens > > when popular politicians change their opinions in public. I think > > Cohen's is a novel approach and her description begins to soothe some > > of my agonizing over the topic. I'm still searching. > > > > [1]http://www.juliecohen.com/attachments/File/CohenWhatPrivacyIsFor.pdf > > _______________________________________________ > > cryptography mailing list > > cryptography@randombit.net > > http://lists.randombit.net/mailman/listinfo/cryptography > > > > > > Without any reference, it is my understanding that privacy is very much a > > luxury right, not unlike education, which grants us the freedom to > perform > > at our individual best when not alone and contemplate, experience and > learn > > all the "wrong" paths away from the unforgiving blind judgement that is > > inevitable in a society of men. > > > > To unpack that slightly, privacy is very much a low-priority benefit, one > > that comes far behind keeping fed and physically healthy. It is often > first > > out the door when sacrifices are being made with only minor short-term > > damage to the society. > > > > Privacy's benefits are very much long-term, and mainly favour > individualism > > in the sense that it allows the individual to develop their own self, > their > > own views, and their own solutions to societal and other problems. These > > benefits are highly praised in individualistic societies but hardly a > > necessity for any society to operate. > > > > Privacy is optional in a society geared toward pushing values; such as > those > > strictly governed by religious principles (eg. Roman Catholic), economic > or > > militaristic goals (eg. Total War), and desirable in societies open to > > exploration, the sciences and new understandings. > > > > In the absence of privacy, people tend to fall in line. > > > > Dreams and their many benefits are in my opinion proof that the human > psyche > > needs and thrives on privacy. > > > > I've read others defining privacy as "a withdrawal for the sake of making > > life with others bearable", in the sense that privacy is truly necessary > > only when the only alternative would be a personal conflict[1]. > > > > [1]http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2775779(The Social Psychology > of > > Privacy, Barry Schwartz) > > > > — Maarten Billemont (lhunath) — > > me: http://www.lhunath.com – business: http://www.lyndir.com – > > http://masterpasswordapp.com > > > _______________________________________________ > cryptography mailing list > cryptography@randombit.net > http://lists.randombit.net/mailman/listinfo/cryptography > -- konklone.com | @konklone <https://twitter.com/konklone>
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