Libraries in the US requiring fingerprint
To understand the following, read this Bruce Schnier’s blog entry
I think the whole point is not whether it is possible to reconstruct the original fingerprint (probably not) or trace the data to a real person (most likely). The point is that the age of legal anonymous communication is behind us, and in the future, whenever someone utters an idea on some medium, his 1:1 identity will be attached.
It is very difficult today to transmit anything legally AND anonymously on the Internet today. I think that if you wear a baseball cap to Kinko’s you’re still okay, but I suspect that won’t last long. You can still make anon. calls from public pay phones, and you can still use the US postal service anonymously. When that’s eliminated… you can always find an open hot-spot, but that is or will be illegal.
The only debate remaining is whether it is good or bad. My take on it is that it’s bad. It hinders self-expression. One would like to say something that is not in line with the current regime, and would like to do it without fear of prosecution. One would like to voice an unpopular opinion without suffering the taunts of the majority. And real soon now it would not be possible.
And as far as law enforcement and terrorism? “When anonymity is outlawed, only outlaws will have anonymity”, because they, who are not bound by the limits a lawful citizen places upon him/herself, can always steal someone’s identity.
Or, a reason more used widely used then the “I’m being oppressed!” argument but also more discredited: Sometimes people want to use an anonymous or even a false identity in order to comment w/o that opinion being shadowed by tons of past baggage (good or bad) attached to an identity that everyone knows, or simply because the commenter’s identity carries with it bias and prejeduice (like everone’s) which they’d like to be ignored.
Comment by Oded — May 23rd, 2005 @ 8:15 pmBenjamin Franklin wrote under many pseudonyms, most of which were not known to be his at the time. What was good for our founding fathers is no longer considered acceptable because freedom continues to erode slowly, but steadily.
Comment by David — May 23rd, 2005 @ 8:48 pmJust wait until the day when you have to have certain credentials to even have a blog. The government will watch your comments and “suggest” unPC content be taken down. Sounds like a movie.
Comment by Dan — March 23rd, 2006 @ 11:31 am