Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

This is really troubling.

Maybe the only solution is to do something drastic, like everyone naming their kid the same name, ie. John or Jane Smith. They can call them whatever name they want at home, but for any formal documentation, everyone could use the same name. This might make it extremely hard for governments to share information back and forth like this is all they have a birth date and birthplace to go off of.




If the governments are actually sharing information, then they'll just share your citizenship number, passport info, etc.

This story is only the opening round. Like other stories, there may be a mundane explanation. She may have posted on some website or something. Or have had something referencing her depression in her belongings. I'm glad Canada is investigating, but I'd say it's a bit premature to say that the Canadian government is sharing private medical records, wholesale.


After everything we've seen from Edward Snowden, and the scale to which countries are sharing data about their citizens together without our knowledge, I think it's safe to assume that governments don't give a crap about our privacy, and are sharing everything. Fool me once, etc.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: