European lesson on protecting privacy

Now I see why the Bush Administration needed all those lessons from Europeans on data protection. Evidently, we should have followed the example set by Norway, which publishes everyone's tax returns each year for the edification of their neighbors.  Somehow, I don't remember the European Union refusing to share data with Norway because it didn't meet European data protection standards.  Of course, the US wanted travel data to fight terrorism, whereas the Norwegians are pursuing an overriding public interest when they publish tax returns:

Christine Ingebritsen, a professor at the University of Washington, said the Norwegian tax list exemplifies a time-tested, distinctly Scandinavian custom of egalitarianism.

"This is how you make sure that you're being legitimate in the eyes of the community — you show that the wealth of a CEO isn't off the charts," she said, adding that unlike the U.S., Norway "places the wealth and health of all as a priority above the individual success stories."

So there you go.  That's what matters. It's still a European morality lesson for the United States.

Comments

[Dieudonné]

The "morality lesson" is the the eyes of the beholder. The moral of the story is that

[Dieudonné]

sorry... the moral of the story is that the Norwegian system does not specifically or even mainly target foreigners.