US intelligence honcho channels Orwell, redefines privacy

Donald Kerr, the US Principal Deputy Director of Intelligence, has decided to kill privacy. He says that human beings can no longer expect governments and companies not to spy on them; instead “privacy” will now mean having the right to expect that governments and companies won’t tell other people what they learn when they spy on you.

Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people’s private communications and financial information…

He noted that government employees face up to five years in prison and $100,000 in fines if convicted of misusing private information.