Bruce Schneier “The debate isn’t security versus privacy. It’s liberty versus control.”
This is one of the points made by Bruce in the article “Security vs. Privacy” from his latest Cryptogram. As always, he is dead on and brings to light some common sense that is seriously lacking regarding the U.S. government’s attempts to strip away any all privacy from it’s citizen. This article is a very good read and I highly recommend it.
As for my own personal view on this topic, make no mistake, I am not on the fence on this issue. Yes we need security but not at the expense of our freedom or privacy, period.
He goes on to note:
“You can see it in comments by government officials: “Privacy no longer can mean anonymity,” says Donald Kerr, principal deputy director of national intelligence. “Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people’s private communications and financial information.” Did you catch that? You’re expected to give up control of your privacy to others, who — presumably — get to decide how much of it you deserve. That’s what loss of liberty looks like.
It should be no surprise that people choose security over privacy: 51 to 29 percent in a recent poll. Even if you don’t subscribe to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it’s obvious that security is more important.
Security is vital to survival, not just of people but of every living thing. Privacy is unique to humans, but it’s a social need. It’s vital to personal dignity, to family life, to society — to what makes us uniquely human — but not to survival.”
Source: Bruce Schneier
