It's hard enough protecting your privacy today with threats from identity theft, malware, government surveillance, and consumer profiling. Marc Hedlund is even more concerned about what might happen in the future and what can be done now to plan for protection from possible privacy threats.

Hedlund first lists the various current threats that might lead to privacy problems later. For example, storage costs continue to drop, meaning that data may never be deleted. In addition, search technologies are improving, allowing for better correlation.

Hedlund then gives some defense techniques that should help provide future protection. He also proposes a modest call to arms, stating that privacy policies modeled on the General Public License (GPL) should be developed. He also suggests strongly that it is best to assume that any data made available is being added to the pool.