Civic hygiene: why recording citizens' sexuality is a dangerous precedent

In a 2013 article titled "Civic Hygiene", security expert Bruce Schneier argues that governments should avoid developing technologies capable of detailed surveillance. The core premise is that data collected for benign civic planning purposes could be misused by a future malicious government to harass citizens. Schneier posits that society should not trust future administrations with the same level of trust afforded to the current one, suggesting it is poor civic hygiene to build systems that could facilitate a police state.

The author illustrates this risk with a hypothetical scenario involving the United Kingdom. He imagines a government collecting detailed demographic data on citizens' sexuality to plan for sexual health services and school construction. While the public might trust the current administration and believe there is nothing to hide, Schneier warns that if the government loses an election and a group like UKIP comes to power, that same database could be used to target and harass gay citizens.

Schneier points to existing surveillance measures in the UK at the time as evidence that such risks are not merely theoretical. He cites the "black boxes" installed in ISPs which record every click a user makes, as well as the sale of NHS details to private parties. These measures, he argues, create a situation where a malicious government could cause serious damage to private information. The argument draws parallels to historical fascist regimes where race and religious identity were used to justify persecution, noting that the memories of such dictators haunt the collective consciousness.

The concept of civic hygiene is not about distrusting the current government, but rather about not trusting the next one. Schneier suggests that while it is sensible to build a database of car ownership for civil use, a national database of religious beliefs should be avoided almost instinctively. The argument is that we must be careful that the apparatus we build cannot easily be misused for evil purposes, even if the original intent was innocuous.

Schneier concludes that it is bad civic hygiene to build technologies that could someday be used to facilitate a police state. He notes that while even an innocuous toaster can be weaponised if someone is willing enough, we should not fall into the trap of making systems which can easily be turned against the people. The piece serves as a cautionary note on the long-term implications of data collection policies.

The analysis references a related article Schneier wrote for CNN regarding how the existing surveillance state is leading to disastrous breaches of private information. Ultimately, the text urges a careful approach to technology development to ensure that systems do not become tools for oppression under a different political regime.