[freehaven-dev] Defining Privacy

[Roger R Dingledine <arma@mit.edu>]

\subsection{Defining Privacy}

Privacy is the ability to control dissemination of information about
yourself. The level of anonymity you have in a given scenario is a result
of the choices you make about your privacy.

In particular, the speaker may have control in several different dimensions
over dissemination of information about his own speech:

\begin{enumerate}
\item {\bf Linkability:} The speaker controls the ability of readers to
link his utterances.  If there are distinguishing characteristics that
provide this linkability, these characteristics are called a pseudonym.
\item {\bf Replies:} The speaker controls whether readers can reply to
his utterances.  Further parameters include whether the reply is private,
and persistence of the ability to reply (perhaps the ability to reply
expires a week after the publication).
\item {\bf Content Leaks:} The speaker controls how much partial
information is leaked based on the content of his speech. For instance,
the speaker may choose to reveal certain information such as credentials
for being authorized to read the New York Times on the web.
\item {\bf Channel Leaks:} The speaker controls how much partial
information is leaked based on the communications channel he chooses
to use.
\item {\bf Persistence:} The speaker controls how long his speech persists
after the publication.
\item {\bf Readers:} The speaker controls which other parties will be
able to read his speech.
\end{enumerate}