Scott McNealy On Privacy

Say That Again

from the absolute-privacy-is-dangerous dept

Scott McNealy (CEO of Sun if you hadn’t been paying attention) has an editorial in today’s Washington Post about the dangers of absolute privacy. His point is that there are certain situations in which you want people to be able to access your “private” records. For example, if you’re in a car crash, you want the medical personnel to have access to your medical records. In less extreme examples, you can have a better experience if companies know what you like – since they can better cater to your needs. He makes some very good points, which I think some of the extreme privacy freaks should think about. However, I think the point he’s missing is that control over this sort of data should rest with the individual. If a person decides that they’d rather die then give out their medical records – then that should be their choice. But, for the rest of us, it would be great if we could designate when and where (and at what levels) our privacy mattered to us.