Encryption, Privacy, National Security, and Dr. Seuss

Last week, U.S.President Barack Obama, standing with British Prime Minister David Cameron, said that If we find evidence of a terrorist plotand despite having a phone number, despite having a social media address or e-mail address, we cant penetrate that;thats a problem. According to the Wall Street Journal, he then indicated that he believes Silicon Valley companies want to solve this problem, because Theyre patriots.

An interesting statement, given that just a few months ago, Silicon Valley companies were being criticized by U.S. government agencies for adding automatic encryption to smart phonesa move the government sees as not so patriotic. The latest software released for Android and Apple phones and pads automatically encrypts user data, and the companies said they are not keeping a master key, so they cant help the government get into user data, even if they want to. Other communications and social networking apps, like WhatsApp, have also been rolling out automatic encryption.

So whats the story? Is Silicon Valley determined to protect user privacy, or is it ready and willing to turn over data to the government when asked.

You could see it as a delicate dance, or as walking a fine line. Or, you could be a little more cynical, and view it through the eyes of the Dr. Seuss classic, The Sneetches.

I was introduced to this parable back in the 90s. The book is typically used to teach lessons about discrimination. But Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper had a different interpretation in mind when he gave a copy of the book to my husband. The intent, Draper noted, was to help my husband understand Microsofts moves at the time. Since then,The Sneetcheshas beena story that I think about regularly when I watch the goings on in business and technology today.

Short synoposis: two sets of creaturesstar-bellied Sneetches and plain-bellied Sneetcheslive in a world in which the star-bellied Sneetches are top dogs. An entrepreneur named Sylvester McMonkey McBean comes in with new technologyhe can add stars to plain-bellied Sneetches, for a fee. The plain-bellied crew all signs up, and now nobody can tell the two groups apart. The original elite arent happy, so McBean offers a new tech fix,at a higher fee:star removal. This goes back and forth until the Sneetches are brokeand McBean drives off with all the money. Only then do the two sides work out their differences.

So McBean provides the technology that givesand the technology that takes awaysort of like a tech industry that gives privacy protection, yet is, apparently alsointerested in working with the government to get around privacy protection.

You can see an animated version of the Sneetches here (or read the text here) and think about whether its a good or bad thing that Silicon Valley is in the position of brokering our privacy.

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IEEE Spectrums blog featuring the people, places, and passions of the world of technologists in Silicon Valley and its environs. Contact us:t.perry@ieee.org

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Encryption, Privacy, National Security, and Dr. Seuss