Journal: News & Comment

I'm not over it

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Nearly six years ago, CEO Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems famously said, "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." Today there is this report:

"I wonder if people have simply given up any notion of privacy," said Budapest-based security consultant Yanos Kovas. "In Hungary, many people who grew up under communist rule came to accept government interference in every aspect of their lives as inescapable. They were too tired to fight anymore, so they convinced themselves that communism was OK and even a benefit.

"I think some internet users are exhausted by security threats and privacy leaks and are beginning to decide to believe that spyware is necessary for the greater good. If your personal information isn't private anyway, if businesses and governments are trading it at will, then why not give a little more away and get some free software too?"

Depressing, that's what it is.

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