Limiting Knowledge: Jameel Jaffer

At Arguments for and Against Limits on Knowledge in a Democracy on Thursday, Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU's National Security Program, discussed public and private information. "Things should be public, except when they shouldn't be," he said. He discussed how there isn't a specific basis that decides what is public and what is private, but that democratic ethos plays a major part.

Jaffer also talked about how our government is more secretive now compared to ten years ago, even though the rules haven't changed. "The amendments were made to make more info public, not less," he said. The difference between ten years ago and now is that, in the past, the government was driven by confidence. Now, due to events, the government is more anxiety-driven.