Privacy's Benefits Are Exaggerated?

Privacy's benefits are exaggerated, Posner says in op-ed - ABA Journal. Appellate Judge Posner is in a unique position to see the battles over privacy in our tech society. He thinks that the benefits of privacy are overrated, and that sometimes a lack of privacy is a desirable thing. For instance, surveillance cameras in Boston probably saved lives by allowing for the capture of the bombers earlier. My take on this is that it is clear that technology has made privacy a pipe dream; but, there are ways to protect ourselves. My preferred solution is to make the penalties for violating someone's privacy so severe that, even though a hacker or other bad guy can get at my private information, he will, when caught by the same technology, be punished severely. I do not believe that we should allow privacy violations solely because some persons try to hide information about themselves that puts them in a bad light. The more of this stuff that goes on, the more we, as a people, should realize that all of us have things in our lives that we don't want disseminated on the Internet. Be careful out there.