Obstacles to freedom and privacy by design

Abstract

In this note, we describe some obstacles to designing technology that inherently protects civil liberties. We also suggest ways to overcome these obstacles. Technology that inherently protects civil liberties is a nice idea in theory. In practice, however, it may be difficult to achieve. For example, Cranor and Wright [1] show that it can be difficult for software designers to control, or even influence, the ways in which their systems are used. Nonetheless, it is clear that generally a system is more likely to protect freedom and privacy if it is designed with that goal in mind than if it is not.