Answer me this question, this moral question.

On Slashdot.org, the greatest news source ever after maybe The Holy Observer (both are at your right, if you want to have a peek), there’s a discussion of onion routing and practical internet anonymity, and whether or not it’s a good thing.

Here’s a pretty balanced summary: if no one knows for practical intents and purposes what people are doing on the internet (much like trying to track a convo between two mages in a +50 area of some MUD), how can we prevent child pr0n, P2P file stealing, and terrorist communications? We can’t, at least not in a way that would make any sort of criminalist sense.

However, since the internet is now an open standard, it’s pretty easy to track people by their IP numbers. Tracking cookies do this all the time, and it’s in the interests of some websites to track the metrics of who is visiting and where they’re coming from. Do you have a right to privacy on the internet? If you want privacy on the internet, is it right to merely establish your own private means of surfing? Is privacy guarunteed anywhere, period?

I mean, child pr0n is going to exist in some form no matter what you do. If it’s not by HTTP, it’ll be on IRC. If it’s not there it’ll be on newsgroups. If not there, private webrings will pass around photos and such via encrypted, anonymous email. If not there, on street corners with hardcopy. If people really want to do something, they’re going to find a way to do it, no matter how hard law enforcement tries to do it.

I wouldn’t mind an audience response — and if they’re good, I’ll post them on the main page sometime soon — to these questions:

1. Is privacy an invoilable right?

2. Is privacy on the internet a right?

3. Just because something can be used by evil forces, does that mean it’s wrong?

4. Do you care if people know where you’re surfing?

Answer any or all of these questions by clicking “Comments” below. Remember, sign some sort of name, if you prefer to remain anonymous ;)

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Posted December 22nd, 2004 in main.

One comment:

  1. shan:

    I’ll try and tackle this cause I’m bored, and no need to place them on the “main page”

    1. Is privacy and involible right?

    Let me check the meaning of inviolible in my dictionary….

    Ok. North American society has turned everything into a ‘right.’ Perhaps privacy is not so much a right, as it is an aspect of respect that one has for another person.

    2. Privacy on the internet is practically impossible, isn’t it? If you place things on the web, you should be well aware that it is permenantly available to anyone anytime. If you want something private, don’t put it on the web.

    3. Oh, i just had this arguement with my parents about alcohol. Just because something can be used for evil forces, that does not make it in essence wrong or sinful. Neither, simply because some people will use something wrongly, do we individually have to completely avoid it. Of course in the sitation of drinking alcohol the factor of Christian love and upholding the weaker brother comes in, but in each situation, we use our God-given wisdom to discern a use of something. I suppose one could argue about porn and say what if it’s not wrong in and of itself, just the way people use it…I don’t have a logical answer for that… sorry, perhaps someone else does…?

    4. do I care that people know i’m surfing the web? It depends on their purpose…I have a set list of pages i visit, and perhaps one of them will give them spiritual ‘food for thought,’ but i really don’t care because i know where I am. i mean, it’s like someone following you around and writing down what stores you’ve gone to…as long as they’re not stalking me for murderous purposes, I don’t care…

    December 27th, 2004 at 7:49 am

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