Re: [privacy] First they came...

[coderman <coderman () gmail com>]

On 6/3/06, Florian Weimer <fw () deneb enyo de> wrote:
> ... But we computer folks protect the status quo.  We keep the
> financial and communications infrastructure and all those databases
> running, help law enforcement where necessary, and support the
> political system in various ways.  It's a bit unrealistic to suggest
> we won't be the people who wouldn't help to hunt down dissidents.
> After all, they are just a couple of rows in an SQL database, aren't
> they?

are these mutually exclusive?

my paid labor involves data providers while my personal interests
center around privacy enhancing technologies.

having a view "from the inside" helps me better understand the real
world threats to privacy and how to protect it.  while the ethical
aspects can be difficult (the company i work for only deals in a
limited set of public information; i would have a harder time working
for a ChoicePoint for example) i don't think they are mutually
exclusive.

there was an interesting exchange described in the "Crashing the
Wiretappers Ball" article[1] when the reporter asked how the engineers
felt about their technology being used for potential totalitarian
control over citizens:
''.. Now leave these guys alone; they make a product, that's all. It's
nothing to them what happens afterward.''

our products and services are tools which can be used properly for
good purposes or abused for harm against others.  to what extent are
we personally responsible for their use in other's hands?  not at all?
 a little bit?  only if we actively facilitate such malicious efforts
with foreknowledge?

we computer folks facilitate/protect the status quo, but like Mark
Klein we also have a unique ability to observe and speak out against
abuses of our efforts.

i may provide assistance to data providers who aggregate and analyze
public information but i also write tools for individuals to protect
the privacy of their personal information.  there is an element of
personal responsibility that is expected; those who wish to stay out
of the databases i assist can do so easily and i have provided
instruction and tools toward that end.  i am comfortable with the
ethics of these decisions.

likewise, many NSA analysts are comfortable with their efforts when
directed at foreign adversaries.  like Russell Tice, they may be
compelled to expose abuses like domestic surveillance without
oversight when the leadership for the agency turns a legitimate tool
toward illegitimate uses.

where do you personally draw the line?  is it none of your concern how
your tools or efforts are used?  do the ends justify the means?  are
your decisions ethical as long as you do not participate directly in
malicious or abhorrent programs?  physicians have the Hippocratic
Oath; engineering is a profession that would also be well served by a
focus on ethical practice.

1. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71022-0.html?tw=wn_index_21


P.S. one of the most popularized evils used to justify totalitarian
invasion of digital communications is child pornography (see the
recent data retention laws and legal intercepts associated with
internet communication in various jurisdictions).

the privacy enhancing technologies that i develop can be and will be
misused by these people to facilitate and conceal abuses of children.
as someone who experienced physical and sexual abuse as a child this
is particularly relevant to the ethical concerns i reason with when
deciding to put my time, effort, and resources into these projects.
this is a not a decision i've reached lightly, able to brush aside
with a "not my problem, i only make the tools".  but i am certain of
the benefits and importance of individual privacy and know that i have
made the correct decision.  how many truly consider the ethical
ramifications of their work in information technology?  should you
place a bit more emphasis on these decisions?  should we as
technologists encourage others to do the same?  these are questions
that will only become more prominent and relevant over time.
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