Privacy is about Policy

The discussion thread on James Joyner’s post on the drug war and phone records reminds me of a simple point that seems to get lost in discussions about privacy and that point is that privacy is as much about policy as it is about technical capabilities.
Specifically:  it is often argued that the nature of electronic communication means that it can be easily accessed by third parties.  The IT guy at your place of work can read your e-mails, for example.  And, indeed, there are lots of third party participants who could, if they so choose, have access to that e-mail.  Such facts may make one cautious about what kinds of information one sends.
This is, however, not as new a phenomenon as it is being made out to be.  Since the creation of physical mail it has been the case that if I write a letter to a friend and place it in the hands of my local postman that said letter will travel through the hands of any number of third parties who could, with great ease, read that letter.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/privacy-is-about-policy/