Change the Definition

... it depends on what the definition of is is...
-Bill Clinton

Leave it to the government. According to this AP article, congress is debating new rules for government eavesdropping. Part of the congressional deliberation process is listening to what people have to say about the issue, and according to Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, the rules are fine. Instead, he thinks that we need to change our definition of privacy. According to Mr. Kerr, 'privacy no longer can mean anonymity.'

The basis for his argument is that teens and 20-somethings are already giving up vast amounts of information to My Space and the like. Okay great. Hey Mr. Kerr, there are a lot of teens and 20-somethings who are binge drinking, engaging in unsafe sex, driving recklessly, abusing illegal drugs and even attempting suicide. Should I do that too?

Look dude, if someone in my family chooses to purchase something from the internet, knowing that the vendor will track personal information, that's not even in the same league as the government changing the definition of privacy and forcing me to give up all of my anonymity. At least with the private company, it's an individual choice whether or not to provide this information, and the individual gets something in return. If we went with your idea of privacy, I would lose anonymity under the pretense of additional security, because someone else chose to disclose personal information to a private company. And yes, the word pretense in that sentence is key.