Brin, concluded

• Example of speech getting you in trouble: Jim Bell's Assassination Politics. He's been arrested & charged with cyberstalking for trying to seek and publicize information about federal agents who he belives are harassing him. (an article about his Nov 11 arrest is at Wired)
• Compare this to the somewhat older story of Bernie S., who spent months in jail for possessing scanners and other electronic equipment. From the 2600 page about Bernie S. At the hearing the Secret Service once again attempted to portray Cummings as one of America's most dangerous criminals. The points Special Agent Thomas Varney focused upon were: possession of books on explosives (books published by Loompanics that are widely available), lock-picking devices (Cummings was in violation of no law by possessing these), a number of computers (hardly surprising as Cummings' job was repairing computers), his affiliation with 2600 Magazine (not a secret and not a reason to label someone a criminal), and Cummings' appearances on WBAI radio in New York (something he had every right to do and one of the only ways the general public has been able to hear about his case).
• Finally, consider the stories of high school students in High School Horror Stories (currently listed on the front page of 2600.com).

• Encryption: Brin would be happiest if only what really needed to be encrypted was. Do you agree? Do you think privacy is a right?
  • If you got to decide whether the next version of MS Outlook & Outlook Expressincluded strong encryption BY DEFAULT or not, what would you do?
• Anonymity: Brin is generally against it. What do you think? Do you value anonymity? Would a single identifier (e.g., something like your SSN linked to your retinal print) accessible to anyone who wanted to prove who you are make you comfortable? Why or why not?
• Do you think that transparency should apply to public officials and offices? To what extent?
• What do you think of Brin's proposal for everyone to wear broadcasting cameras? Would it make a more civil society? A better society?

• Remember Carnivore? How do you feel about not being able to monitor email, network traffic, etc., but someone else (law enforcement) can?
• Brin seems to think people have a choice about strong privacy versus strong transparency. Regardless of which you favor, do you think there is an opportunity to choose? Who will choose? When?