From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 95 16:16:27 PDT
To: Rob Lowry <cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Collection of personal info
Message-ID: <ac737a2b1b0210043115@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 10:15 PM 9/6/95, Rob Lowry wrote:

>Beyond having the willies.. This is more than just scary, it feels like
>rape when you think about it for awhile. Everything you buy, on credit, is
>recorded and sold to someone who wants to know your secrets. Everytime
>you make a banking transaction, someone is watching and compiling the
>data.
>
>Is there any legal recourse to get your name removed from the sellable list?
>Or is it too late and we can not save even the vestiges of our privacy?

Rob, I have entered this posting of yours into the "BlackNet Dossier
Service" I operate.

Sounds creepy and scary, eh? Well, it's part of freedom.

The "legal recourse" you mention about having your name taken off lists
kept by people or agencies ultimately involves visits by the authorities to
private homes (like mine) to verify that the data are being "properly
collected" and that no "illegal or incorrect data" are being stored.

If someone wants something kept secret, the solution is to keep it secret.

If someone doesn't want their postings going into my 220 megabyte file of
postings, they shouldn't send them to me. Or they should adopt a digital
pseudonym, unlinkable to their True Name or any other nyms they may have.

Things are much simpler and less stressful when you don't look to the law
to fix things.

--Tim May

---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
Corralitos, CA              | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839      | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."