O’Reilly Media published a book this February 2010 called Open Government: Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice. In this book Jim Harper and I coauthor a chapter entitled: Open Government: The Privacy Imperative (pp 315-325).
Excerpt
“If participatory government is to have the confidence of citizens, it must be very sensitive to individual privacy and related values. Open government will not truly succeed if it is not welcoming to everyone. The most credible and successful open government systems must have the trust of all potential users, not only that of technophiles and the web generation. Open government systems must garner the trust of people who disagree with administration policies, people who distrust government generally, and people who are leery of the Internet.
As governments enter the 2.0 era, they must examine what information they collect from citizens and the rules governing how these data collections are used and controlled. A variety of techniques can protect privacy and foster the sense among all citizens that interacting with government will not expose them to adverse consequences, retribution, or negative repercussions. New and improved privacy practices can help fulfill the promise of open government.”
RELATED POSTS
To Anonymize or Not Anonymize, That is the Question
Data Tethering: Managing the Echo
Full Attribution, Don’t Leave Home Without It
Out-bound Record-level Accountability in Information Sharing Systems
I agree with your excerpt but believe that our government is going in the opposite direction in a big way. They even are asking others (banks, retailers, consumers, etc.) to spy on their fellow citizens. Sad, isn't it?
Posted by: Ron Stone | June 03, 2010 at 12:11 PM