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I'm disturbed by some of the "chill effect" responses here, in the crime/law enforcement space. Why does an anonymizing product, one designed to protect the us

I'm disturbed by some of the "chill effect" responses here, in the crime/law enforcement space. Why does an anonymizing product, one designed to protect the user, get so many questions about use by criminals and ways for law enforcement to get around it? Frankly, the job of law enforcement is up to people in law enforcement. We're not responsible for them. Their physical inability to do certain kinds of harm is part of the balance between civil rights and law enforcement. Most people who benefit from Burner won't be criminals. It'll probably end up reducing crime by protecting potential victims. Most people are good, so when this thing is doing it's job, it's mostly going to be protecting good people. The additional safety will encourage people to have a better feeling of safety in their lives, as they'll be taking smaller risks when using their phone and interacting with other people. In single life, this thing is frankly a godsend, and can really make a substantive improvement in many peoples lives... Especially for those who've previously been victims. Worrying about whether to protect people, versus easing the jobs of the people who protect people, is absurdly myopic.

izaidi 14y ago
I don't get the impression anyone here is actually that concerned on an ethical level about the potential for criminal abuse. But it's likely to become an issue if the product is widely used, and it's worthwhile to ask if the developers have a strategy for dealing with the kinds of dilemmas that could arise. It's a business question, not a moral one.
Foy 14y ago
If this is used for anonymity it is completely understandable for potential customers to want to know EXACTLY how anonymous this makes the number. That's like Sony saying "give us your personal info, CC numbers, etc... don't worry we'll take care of the rest" and they turn around and store it in plaintext or md5 on an insecure database. Also, if it turns out that this service is somehow unlawful or could get shut down / interrupted by law enforcement then I want to know that before I invest in them as a customer. TL;DR - It's never wrong to question something; especially something like this. If they can't answer the hard questions now then they don't deserve our trust.
mbell 14y ago
I conceptually agree with you but this service is called "Burner", they have couldn't have picked a worse name for a 'legit' service. They have metaphorically written "for criminals and wanna be spys" on their back and are carrying around a 10 foot sign saying "Department of Justice, come and get me!". Everyone looking at this service is completely justified in being skeptical and asking questions.

izaidi 14y ago

I don't get the impression anyone here is actually that concerned on an ethical level about the potential for criminal abuse. But it's likely to become an issue if the product is widely used, and it's worthwhile to ask if the developers have a strategy for dealing with the kinds of dilemmas that could arise. It's a business question, not a moral one.

Foy 14y ago

If this is used for anonymity it is completely understandable for potential customers to want to know EXACTLY how anonymous this makes the number. That's like Sony saying "give us your personal info, CC numbers, etc... don't worry we'll take care of the rest" and they turn around and store it in plaintext or md5 on an insecure database. Also, if it turns out that this service is somehow unlawful or could get shut down / interrupted by law enforcement then I want to know that before I invest in them as a customer. TL;DR - It's never wrong to question something; especially something like this. If they can't answer the hard questions now then they don't deserve our trust.

mbell 14y ago

I conceptually agree with you but this service is called "Burner", they have couldn't have picked a worse name for a 'legit' service. They have metaphorically written "for criminals and wanna be spys" on their back and are carrying around a 10 foot sign saying "Department of Justice, come and get me!". Everyone looking at this service is completely justified in being skeptical and asking questions.