I don't understand this big hype over privacy. Individuals should be able to contract with any institution to give up any and all of their privacy if they CHOOSE. I would have no problem giving all my personal information to an advertising company so that it could tailor, say, TV ads specifically for me. How much better would that be then watching all this junk! Unlike all these CAlifornia liberals, I'd be willing to have Gmail do the same for my email.
And if someone didn't want to give up their privacy then they shouldn't have to. It is their right. IMO, the ACLU should ask if membership if they are willing to give up certain personal information to aid the organization and, if so, they can do so guilt free. It seems quite simple to me... Am I missing something?
People should be not be forced to give up their privacy and people should not be forced to NOT give up their privacy.
The point is that ACLU members did not choose to give up their privacy:
"The group's new data collection practices were implemented without the board's approval or knowledge and were in violation of the ACLU's privacy policy at the time, according to Michael Meyers, vice president of the organization and a frequent internal critic. He said he had learned about the new research by accident Nov. 7 during a meeting of the committee that is organizing the group's Biennial Conference in July.
He objected to the practices, and the next day, the privacy policy on the group's Web site was changed. "They took out all the language that would show that they were violating their own policy," Meyers said. "In doing so, they sanctified their procedure while still keeping it secret."
Quoted from: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/18/MNGCOADSEL1.DTL This site does not require registration, I believe.