Blogger David Lat Says Privacy an ‘Antiquated Notion,’ Goes Public With Diet
The blogger who writes the legal gossip blog Above the Law suggests that privacy is the refuge of scoundrels—and a convenient way to hide bad eating habits.
Above the Law’s David Lat writes on a separate blog that he gets lots of e-mails from lawyers who complain that his blog has violated their privacy. He doesn’t have much sympathy for the claim. “Privacy is an antiquated notion in the Internet age,” he writes. And it’s a good thing.
“Privacy is what allows us to eat pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in a single sitting, to cheat on our spouses, to pick our noses, to watch porn, to abuse our children,” he writes. “Privacy facilitates all sorts of unsavory, unethical and even illegal conduct.”
Lat has decided to make himself Exhibit A. He is pledging to lose weight and tackle his e-mail backlog. Toward that end, he will log in to his personal blog every evening to answer questions about his diet, exercise and e-mail activities for the day. He’ll weigh in once a week—and upload photos of himself to show he isn’t lying—in an effort to reach a goal of 145 pounds.
He has dubbed his self-improvement effort the Project Truman Show.
