From: Mike McNally <m5@vail.tivoli.com>
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 01:36:55 +0800
To: Bruce Baugh <bruce@aracnet.com>
Subject: Philosophy of information ownership [ Re: Children's Privacy Act ]
In-Reply-To: <2.2.32.19960525115008.006ed084@mail.aracnet.com>
Message-ID: <31A9BB1D.7BE5@vail.tivoli.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Bruce Baugh wrote: 
> At 11:34 PM 5/24/96 -0700, tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) wrote:
> 
> >If I have compiled records, dossiers, etc., as I most assuredly have (got
> >to fill up those MO disks with something), this is "my" information. Mine
> >in the sense that others can't dictate to me what I do with it.
> 
> I don't see that this is necessarily true for information any more than it
> is property. Property can be bought, sold, traded, given away, made...but it
> can also be stolen. 

I don't think this comparison is valid at all.

> Just as I have a right to complain if you walk off with my couch without 
> my permission, so if you walk off with data on my blood chemistry or 
> credit history without my permission.

What if I just *see* your couch, and then back in my garage I use my
couch replicator to make a couch just like yours, complete with fuzzballs
and loose change between the cushions?  Now I have your couch, in a sense.
Are you still upset?

When I walked off with your blood chemistry data, did you lose the use
of it for your future purposes?

And try this:  I now am in posession of some information about you, 
specifically:

* You subscribe to cypherpunks and are aware of (and possibly a sympathizer
towards) a variety of wacko political ideas;

* You believe in "strong" ownership rights over information (something 
handy if I'm on some legislative warpath and need supporters)

What do you propose as to the obligations I should have to you as regards
the disposition of this information?  For example, what if I receive a 
phone call from somebody interested in any e-mail addresses of people I
know who might be interested in supporting the new on-line copyright bill?
I just might decide to sell him your address.

______c_____________________________________________________________________
Mike M Nally * Tiv^H^H^H IBM * Austin TX    * pain is inevitable  
       m5@tivoli.com * m101@io.com          *
      <URL:http://www.io.com/~m101>         * suffering is optional