NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] New Comments by Google's CEO Eric Schmidt Trigger Privacy Concerns
New Comments by Google's CEO Eric Schmidt Trigger Privacy Concerns
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000739.html
Greetings. I have enormous respect for Google's CEO Eric Schmidt.
Among his various positive attributes is his ability and willingness
to openly speak his mind on controversial topics.
Occasionally though, Eric's remarks (which of course do not
unilaterally represent Google official corporate policy) stray into
regions where they can possibly be misinterpreted in the absence of
full context, leading some observers to characterize them in such
cases as perhaps being a bit "shot from the hip" -- and triggering
some consternation among the public (and, I would suspect, sometimes
within Google itself as well).
During a CNBC interview late last year, when Eric suggested that, "If
you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you
shouldn't be doing it in the first place" -- there were loud
condemnations from many quarters. But at the time I pointed out that
in full context it was clear that he was referring to criminal and
other obviously inadvisable acts. (If you're 12 years old, posting
photos of your boozing party on Facebook is probably a really bad
idea.)
In any case, new public comments by Eric -- most of which -- with one
major exception -- I tend to agree with, seem to be triggering a new
firestorm ( http://bit.ly/9zfil8 [Read Write Web] ).
Fundamentally, his recent Lake Tahoe speech suggested that, by and
large, the public as a whole isn't really ready for the implications
of the ongoing technology and information revolution, especially in
terms of the vast quantities of user-generated data that is now
filling disks around the world. This is undeniably true and a matter
of major continuing concerns.
Eric also noted (perhaps with a small dose of hyperbole) how the
convergence of digital imagery and artificial intelligence techniques
were yielding the ability to produce potentially invasive predictions
about people and their movements. This is also definitely a realistic
scenario -- now in some cases, and even more so in the very near
future.
But it was these new comments by Eric that have triggered the most
reaction:
"The only way to manage this is true transparency and no anonymity.
In a world of asynchronous threats, it is too dangerous for there not
to be some way to identify you. We need a [verified] name service for
people. Governments will demand it."
This is where my disagreement comes into play, as regular readers will
have guessed by my previous statements in "Why the New Federal
'Trusted Internet Identity' Proposal is Such a Very Bad Idea"
( http://bit.ly/9j4X0w [Lauren's Blog] ), "Saving Internet Anonymity --
The Struggle is Joined" ( http://bit.ly/92lq4w [Lauren's Blog] ), and
other discussions.
It's important to parse Eric's words pretty carefully. He doesn't
explicitly endorse the Federal Identity proposal which I (and many
others) have so strongly criticized. But his call for a verified name
system suggests his possible support for what is generally called
"pseudo-anonymity." As I noted in the essays referenced above, the
ability of such systems to be "unwound" to reveal true identities --
for purposes both ostensibly laudable or genuinely evil, are of
significant concern, as is the vulnerability of most identity systems
to be "gamed" by criminals for their own purposes, to the potential
serious detriment of innocent parties. The development of systems
that cannot be so manipulated is an area of continuing (and
fascinating) research.
Even given that anonymity can indeed be abused, regimes encompassing
the goal of "no anonymity" signal the death knell for open political
criticisms, whistleblowers, and all manner of other legitimate speech
and civil rights.
I trust that Eric Schmidt did not actually mean to suggest that an
Internet devoid of all anonymity in all circumstances -- with the
array of major negative aspects that this would imply -- is actually
his preferred model.
But I do hope that he clarifies his statement on this topic, and I of
course welcome dialogue with him or anyone else on the complex issues
of anonymity, pseudo-anonymity, identity systems, and associated
matters -- as relates both to the Internet and beyond.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com)
http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
Co-Founder, PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility): http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad (Network Neutrality Squad): http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP (Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance):
http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Google Buzz: http://bit.ly/lauren-buzz