Sunday, June 08, 2014

What do they have to hide?

A judgement in Europe requires Google to let people preserve their anonymity by asking Google to withdraw personal information. People can basically ask to be "forgotten."

That means that when you google somebody, Google will not supply you with the site of the information requested. But it is still there on the web, somewhere. If it is located, nothing prevents folks from forwarding the address to others. Right?

It just means that those who have control of information are increasingly empowered. How often do we credit gossip more highly than published reports -- because gossip feels like it comes from a close source, even when the origination is creditless.

Somebody once said that information wants to be free, but it is more true that people want to control your access to information because that increases control over you.

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