Thursday, March 03, 2011

[cyhswdxr] Right to anonymity

Suppose we jump off the deep end and write the law, probably a Constitutional amendment, asserting that people have a legal fundamental right to anonymity, perhaps as a corollary to a fundamental right to privacy.  This is a radical change from the status quo.

Skip, for now, whether such a right is good for society.  The problem is how to write this thing assuming it is a good idea.  What is anonymity?

The general idea is the government cannot demand identification, or even seek to record, identify, or catalogue people in the absence of a crime and warrant.

Or, I think that is the general idea.  How should it be codified? Can anarchy be prevented?

There is no such thing as your official legal name.  Nor a government issued ID card.

Printers with yellow dots

CCTV cameras and sound recorders.

Multiple forms of identification needed for a PO Box (PS form 1093).

IP addresses on the internet

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