The Myth of the "Transparent Society"

palegray.net recommends a piece by Bruce Schneier up at Wired. Schneier addresses the central fallacy of the "transparent society" idea promoted by David Brin, and also takes on the flawed arguments that attempt to justify increased government monitoring of citizens. From the article: "If I disclose information to you, your power with respect to me increases. One way to address this power imbalance is for you to similarly disclose information to me. We both have less privacy, but the balance of power is maintained. But this mechanism fails utterly if you and I have different power levels to begin with."

Comments

Yea like....

[Anonymous Coward]

what if my powr level is over 9000 and yours isn't?

It could happen

[WormholeFiend]

But eventually, the Transparent Society would be replaced by the TMI Society, and the goggles will still do nothing.

Re:Watching your employees

[bwthomas]

Exactly. Though, the necessity of being excused from work frequently for court appearances as a defendant charged with inappropriate inter-species sex act *might* engender some concern on the part of the employer.

Just something to keep in mind. :)

I see through your plot!

[StreetStealth]

Someday, at such time as your karma has reached the heretofore unattainable echelon of "godlike" with its +6 automatic bonus, you'll post a cleverly disguised link to "8tubgirls2cups." And then we'll all be sorry.