ACLU's Nicole Ozer Promotes Data Privacy Rights In Heart of Silicon Valley

While tech's high priests are proudly, even arrogantly, individualistic, they share common ground on the subject of data. The basic formula is "you have data and we're taking it." Notions such as transparency, open choice, and respect for privacy frequently land on Silicon Valley's version of the cutting room floor. The self-assured high priests frequently give privacy advocates the bum's rush, pay them lip service, or simply ignore them.

Nicole Ozer
(Photo: 365.rscconference.com)

However, there are some hardy souls who dare speak against Silicon Valley's presumptuous usurpation of privacy. One of them is Nicole Ozer, the technology and civil liberties policy director for the ACLU's Northern California branch. An interesting, thoughtful, and too brief interview with her appeared in today's siliconvalley.com. Ozer summed up the privacy contretemps with Silicon Valley rather neatly: "The companies know what they're collecting, what they're using it for, how long they're retaining it for, and who they're sharing it with -- and consumers don't."