Protecting Public Anonymity

摘要

People in the United States have long enjoyed an expectation of anonymity when traveling or performing everyday activities in most public places. For example, they expect not to be recognized, or to have their presence noted and recorded, when making automobile trips far from home, attending large public functions, or visiting a shopping center to make cash purchases. Except for the possibility that they might encounter an acquaintance or violate a law and be asked by legitimate authorities to produce identification, they expect to be able to preserve their anonymity. A variety of technologies are bringing this situation rapidly to an end. Some of these technologies are responses to heightened concerns about security, but many are simply the natural, if unintended, consequence of swiftly evolving technological capabilities. The society depicted in the recent film Minority Report, in which people are routinely recognized by name wherever they go—and presented with individually tailored advertising— might not be far in the future.