Probing privacy.

• Author: Sanchez, Julian
• Position: Soundbite - Interview

In the uncharted terrain that, is privacy policy in the digital age, there are few compasses as reliable as Jeffrey Rosen. His new book The Naked Crowd (Random House) is a nuanced attempt to reconcile the demands of security with respect for civil liberties. Rosen teaches law at George Washington University and is legal affairs editor of The New Republic. He spoke with Assistant Editor Julian Sanchez in March.

Q: How have public attitudes about privacy and security changed?

A: We are more risk averse. I am concerned about the zero-risk mentality proliferating in Western democracies; it predates 9/11, and it's evident in our response to things like mad cow disease too. That's connected to the growth Of the public opinion state and the plebiscitary presidency. Privacy won't be defended unless we care about it, and it's not clear that we do. The forces that lead people to expose themselves are many: There's a desire to distinguish yourself, the pressure of a therapeutic culture where stripping yourself bare is a way of connecting, the decline of norms of reticence.

Q: You argue that it's more productive to fight for privacy-protecting checks in surveillance technologies than to oppose such technologies wholesale. Can you offer an example?

A: One solution might be to make information traceable without being immediately identifiable. For instance, you might have a card that tells people that I'm allowed to cross...