Privacy is the ability to express and enforce limitations on access to and distribution of information of, by, or about you. It is an emergent principle, and its own scope and definition expand precisely as information technologies do. In an age of speech, it concerns gossip, hearsay, and slander. In an age of print, libel. It has expanded with photography, telephony, improved optics and sensing (long lenses, infrared imaging, microwave scanning of structures), and with ever-expanding data storage, processing, and distribution.
In response to an earlier discussion where it was asserted that concerns over privacy in information technology are somehow a post-1980s phenomenon,[1] I compiled a list of notable persons in the field who'd voiced concern earlier, one of the most notable being Paul Baran, a co-inventor of packet-switched networks whilst working at RAND in the 1960s. At my request, his RAND monographs are now freely accessible to the public. I especially recommend:
Paul Baran:
- "On the Engineer's Responsibility in Protecting Privacy"
- "On the Future Computer Era: Modification of the American Character and the Role of the Engineer, or, A Little Caution in the Haste to Number"
- "The Coming Computer Utility -- Laissez-Faire, Licensing, or Regulation?"
- "Remarks on the Question of Privacy Raised by the Automation of Mental Health Records"
- "Some Caveats on the Contribution of Technology to Law Enforcement"
In response to an earlier discussion where it was asserted that concerns over privacy in information technology are somehow a post-1980s phenomenon,[1] I compiled a list of notable persons in the field who'd voiced concern earlier, one of the most notable being Paul Baran, a co-inventor of packet-switched networks whilst working at RAND in the 1960s. At my request, his RAND monographs are now freely accessible to the public. I especially recommend:
Paul Baran:
- "On the Engineer's Responsibility in Protecting Privacy"
- "On the Future Computer Era: Modification of the American Character and the Role of the Engineer, or, A Little Caution in the Haste to Number"
- "The Coming Computer Utility -- Laissez-Faire, Licensing, or Regulation?"
- "Remarks on the Question of Privacy Raised by the Automation of Mental Health Records"
- "Some Caveats on the Contribution of Technology to Law Enforcement"
Largely written/published 1967--1969.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/b/baran_paul.html
This list was compiled in response to an earlier HN thread here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24745246
I've shortened the submission title slightly to fit HN's character limits.