Privacy and the Internet Age

Privacy isn't all it's made out to be, says Amitai Etzioni. Without privacy, no society can remain free, but communities have legitimate needs that sometimes must override privacy rights. 

The FBI, for example, should be able to intercept messages sent between terrorists, Etzioni argues, even if that means agents will have the technical ability to read our e-mail too. And hospitals should be allowed to test all newborns for HIV -- because early treatment is critical to an infant's survival -- even if parents object to testing on privacy grounds. 

What price, in a loss of privacy, are we willing to pay for larger social gains? Professor Etzioni, who has the ear of everyone from Bill Clinton to Bill Gates, will focus on that question and others as he addresses the Minnesota Meeting on Friday, November 19, at 12pm CT, as part of The Surveillance Society series.

Presented in association with Minnesota Public Radio and its Civic Journalism Initiative; Minnesota Meeting; and the University of Minnesota Law School.