Chimerical privacy

Anybody who's heard one of my in-person put-downs of the "privacy hysteria" that I believe is being fomented (that, obviously, in itself being a key part of the mentioned put-down tirade) knows that I am at least modestly skeptical. Particularly, using the example of the loudly privacy-concerned citizen who gives away his personal information in front of the grocery store for a free razor, I am skeptical about how broadly valid is the information that gets published about just how much a concern privacy is to citizens. A story such as this one in the Globe and Mail (New report plays down privacy fears) that reports on a report by the Crossing Boundaries National Council tends to support my skeptical view. Here's the money snip:

In a series of discussion groups, the Crossing Boundaries National Council, an organization stacked with prominent bureaucrats and politicians, found that Canadians do worry about the Big Brother nightmare of governments holding extensive files on citizens but most are willing to make trade-offs for better services as long as safeguards are in place.

Posted by Grayson at August 9, 2005 07:41 AM