

As I wrote yesterday, 7th circuit judge Richard Posner's views on privacy (basically: "nothing to fear, nothing to hide" and "it should be illegal to made a phone the government can't search") are dismal and unsophisticated — but they're also deeply hypocritical.



That's because Posner is the judge who argued against police bodycams because "Once all this stuff can be recorded, there's going to be a lot more of this snooping around by reporters and bloggers… it is a bad thing. There is such a thing as privacy."

And because Posner is the judge who blacked out the name of his trust on his financial disclosure form.

We know you love privacy, Judge Posner. We just wish you'd share.

Even worse, as Glenn Greenwald reminds us, Judge Posner is a complete and total hypocrite on this issue — in a 2011 case concerning whether or not citizens have a First Amendment right to film the police, Posner was suddenly worried about the police's right to privacy: JUDGE POSNER: Once all this stuff can be recorded, there's going to be a lot more of this snooping around by reporters and bloggers. ACLU attorney Richard O'Brien: Is that a bad thing, your honor?



JUDGE POSNER: Yes, it is a bad thing. There is such a thing as privacy.

Judge Posner Says NSA Should Be Able To Get Everything & That Privacy Is Overrated [Mike Masnick/Techdirt]