People have inherent rights to privacy. People also have rights to disclose if they wish. There’s no point in forcing either position, just protect those who make either choice.

Brin *chose* to disclose information about his condition. Nobody asked him to do so. His disclosure is not unusual. A lot of people routinely disclose sensitive or embarrassing information about themselves — think of all the self-reporting on marital infidelity, childhood abuse, wacky sexual desires, drunken sprees, venereal diseases, cheating at school, stealing from employers, getting abortions, committing violent crimes, etc. that fill our airwaves, our bookstores, and the Internet. You may think it’s unwise to tell the world that your husband isn’t really the father of your child or that you are routinely overbilling your clients, but lots of people obviously think otherwise.

Danielle said she hopes people don’t start placing disease-related info on the web — but why? Is it because the info has to do with genetic makeup (but so are disclosures of the true daddy or adoption status)? Is it because that info has to do with health (but so do drunker sprees, drug use, and eating disorders which are disclosed routinely)? Is it because the info is tacky (lots of things are)? Or perhaps Danielle wishes that all of the above topics were removed from the public eye? Or only removed from the Internet? Is it ok to disclose one’s genetic predisposition to disease in a public lecture or during a TV interview?

I can’t tell what her problem is, so I asked.

Brin *chose* to disclose information about his condition. Nobody asked him to do so. His disclosure is not unusual. A lot of people routinely disclose sensitive or embarrassing information about themselves — think of all the self-reporting on marital infidelity, childhood abuse, wacky sexual desires, drunken sprees, venereal diseases, cheating at school, stealing from employers, getting abortions, committing violent crimes, etc. that fill our airwaves, our bookstores, and the Internet. You may think it’s unwise to tell the world that your husband isn’t really the father of your child or that you are routinely overbilling your clients, but lots of people obviously think otherwise.

Danielle said she hopes people don’t start placing genetics-related info on the web — but why? Is it because the info is about a person’s genetic makeup (but so are disclosures of the true daddy or adoption status)? Is it because that info has to do with health (but so do drunker sprees, drug use, and eating disorders which are disclosed routinely)? Is it because the info is tacky (lots of things are)? Or perhaps Danielle wishes that all of the above topics were removed from the public eye? Or only removed from the Internet? Is it ok to disclose one’s genetic predisposition to disease in a public lecture or during a TV interview?

I can’t tell what her problem is, so I asked.

That is a terrific point. Indeed, we all no doubt have genetic markers for disease and if everyone knew each other’s information, then the sting (employer discrimination, etc.) would likely disappear. Thus, we would have all of the upside of disclosure–public awareness of certain diseases–without the disadvantages. Perhaps that scenario is optimal and hence truly forward-thinking. But the worry remains given our current norm of secrecy about this information due to the risk of bias that disclosure at present runs serious risks that should be considered.

Thanks so much,

Danielle

Serious thanks to Logical Extremes for the superb point about Brin’s ultimate agenda: the more we accept personal transparency, the more we tolerate all sorts of privacy intrustions, including that of Google. Superb point.

And thanks to md–I fixed contracting to developing in the post.

But, yes, this level of sharing in our society is not appropriate for most mere mortals.

You don’t think MySpace posts will be used in this way? I’m sure the many people now being denied health insurance on the basis of their pharmacy purchases didn’t think their CVS receipts would end up used against them, either:

http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2008/07/one_more_triump.html

one hopes that we do not see people announcing their potential diseases on Facebook or MySpace.

Why?