My colleague Ian Kerr posts a great speech he recently delivered on the importance of privacy "idealism" in advocacy.
Kerr on Privacy Idealism
July 24, 2008
Share this post
One Comment

Law Bytes
Episode 278: Ben Waldman on Gander Social and the Challenges of Building a Sovereign Social Network
byMichael Geist

August 10, 2026
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Michael Geist on Substack
Recent Posts
The What, Me Worry? Consultation: Media Quietly Tells Government It Wants Even More Funding With Little Concern for Independence Risks
Years of Uncertainty: Bill C-22’s Missing Regulations and Secret Ministerial Orders
The Missing Charter Statement: Why Hasn’t the Government Explained How Bill C-34’s Social Media Ban Complies with the Charter?
Three Years After October 7th: Living With the Shockwaves
What If the U.S. Demanded This? The Cloud Provider Conditions Behind Canada’s EU Digital Pivot

privacy idealism
Great food for thought, Ian. After reading it, my conundrum is this: If the privacy by design pragmatist approach really means thinking of privacy at the outset of something, does it not merge with the idealist approach when that thinking at the outset can’t find a way to protect privacy and thus ends it there? And does that thought make me a pragmatist or an idealist about the pragmatist approach?