These problems may seem comfortably far away, with computers only beginning to work their way into our daily lives. However, the central issues are both relevant and urgent. A government, after all, runs primarily on information, and it is crucially important both that that information not be compromised, and that it can be shown not to be compromised. And the more we allow computers — increasingly a critical link in the chain — to become impenetrable black boxes, the less we can trust that entire chain. Freedom of information is a vital, transformative principle; let us not render it pointless by neglecting trustworthiness of information.

The writer is a programmer and open source enthusiast.