According to a report by U.S. Frontline News,
Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Scott McNealy stated that “users who are online cannot have privacy.”
So it says, but is that really the case?
Amid the trend toward information disclosure, the publication of official gazettes, court records, and similar documents is a sign of the times. This article discusses the problem of privacy being compromised because personal information is published as-is in these records (for example, information about individuals’ traffic violations). The same is true in Japan; just recently, I discussed the fact that the addresses, names, dates of birth, and other details of Living National Treasures and others could be viewed on the Agency for Cultural Affairs website. These are problems that should be solvable through appropriate masking.
Furthermore, privacy should be capable of being strengthened far beyond its current level by using identifiers appropriately according to their characteristics. Am I the only one who finds it somewhat disappointing that the person who initiated the Liberty Alliance would say something like this?