Watching Big Brother

colleague recently recommended a new book, The Transparent Society (Perseus Press), by renowned science fiction author David Brin. The book's thesis is that, as technology gives government the tools to be more intrusive, the best way to protect individual freedom may be to ensure that the same technology is used to give the public access to information about how government operates.

Brin argues that preventing the capturing of information may be akin to trying to put the genie back into the bottle. Instead, he suggests, we should consider using the same kinds of surveillance cameras that are increasingly being used in high-crime areas and busy intersections to observe how government is using such capabilities. He asks: Who's watching what the people behind the cameras are watching?

As a longtime privacy advocate, I find Brin's proposition both jarring and provocative. Brin's work seems to suggest a new way of thinking about the intrusiveness of information technology. Actually it revives and updates basic notions like the concepts of "due process" and the ban on "star chamber" proceedings built into our Constitution.

Government Accountability

The privacy discussion is part of larger debate about how to ensure that government remains accessible and accountable in the electronic age. Although a bit of a cliché, it is worth noting that information technology has the potential both to increase government's capacity to collect information and to make it available to the public. The latter is not, I would contend, an inevitable outcome of the former. Absent concerted action by government policy officials and program managers, it is not obvious that the flow of information will improve as a natural consequence of the existence of the technology.

Despite some policy activity to deal with these issues, the consensus seems to be that ensuring broad, fair access to government information is an unresolved problem. By the time you read this, Congress may be well on the way to enacting the Wendell H. Ford Publications Reform Act (S 2288). The bill would rename the Government Printing Office as the Government Publications Office, would redefine "publication" to include electronic forms of dissemination and give the new GPO broad powers to require that federal government publications be available through the depository library system.

Guiding Principles

As a federal manager, you might ask what this has to do with you. There are at least three reasons why you should pay attention:

1) For the most part, you will be more effective if your constituency understands what you do and how you do it.

2) It is more efficient to have an affirmative dissemination policy than to respond ad hoc to individual inquiries.

3) As a public servant, you have an affirmative obligation to be accountable.

While policymakers formulate their solutions, I suggest some principles that should guide you as you develop your own information strategies.

• Equity of access. As you become more creative in the use of technology as an information dissemination tool, beware of disenfranchising those who may not have access to the latest, jazziest technology.
• Accessibility. A public official noted for his ability to handle sometimes-adversarial congressional hearings was accused of trying to overwhelm his critics with data. It was said that getting information from him was "like trying to get a drink of water from a fire hydrant." Without the tools to use the information that you make available, more may truly be less.
• Privacy vs. openness. Resolving the tension between protecting the rights of individuals and the legitimate interest of society in knowing what its government is doing is not getting easier. The answer in your case will entail some combination of curbing what you collect, limiting what you release and making sure that the subjects of information you collect know and have a say in how information about them is used. You are at greatest risk if you do not consider these issues up front.
• Recognizing the role of intermediaries. It may not come as a great surprise that few Americans read the Congressional Record or Federal Register every morning or even visit agency Web sites. The public is more likely to use agency information obtained through secondary sources such as newspapers and journals. Consult intermediaries as you devise your information strategy.
• Thinking from the outside in. Put yourself into the role of those who want to know what you know, and think how best to meet their needs. You might even want to set up some formal consultations.

Several years ago, when developing what became the "Commonly Requested Federal Services" on the White House Web site a team from the Vice President's National Performance Review (now the National Partnership for Reinventing Government) visited a shopping mall outside Baltimore to demonstrate the prototype and get reactions. One of the comments they heard most frequently was that individuals were shocked that anyone in government cared enough about their opinions to ask.

Go out and shock people!

Franklin S. Reeder consults on government information technology management and policy issues. He is working on a study on access to governmental information for the Bauman Foundation.