Summary
This paragraph discusses my interpretation of István Rév’s three main points on whether archives should be open access and the cons within this question.
Rev discussed how he found open access naive and unethical. He describes issues arising that include political matters, breach of data, and privacy concerns. Achieving openness creates an unmonitored effect that leaves gaps for political debates and legal issues, including costs, subscriptions, and financial losses for large corporations. Open access can also affect the public by exposing an individual’s privacy and personal information without consent, such as names, nationalities, and accusations, which may not be true. It is difficult to call open access a human right when certain rights, like data protection and privacy, are still being breached through the sharing of one’s personal information. From Rev’s point of view, having archives open to anyone with no monitoring was seen as naive and may have been thought through better with privacy factors in mind to reduce these ethical and data protection issues from happening.
There is a fine line between public and confidential information. This boundary can become blurry when information becomes compromised due to open access to archives. With the constant transformation of digital media and culture, information once seen as harmless is now considered more sensitive to individuals. The misuse of open access can share personal details such as gender and sexual orientation, which can cause implications for a person if shared without permission.
Having this openness can also expose confidential criminal files and police documentation to the world, which can be dangerous or even physically harmful for victims, suspects not yet convicted, and those representing them. This type of openness can be used as a weapon by publishing propaganda and to cause a rift between governments and countries. Some classified information can be valuable to people of interest, which could cause severe harm, such as stalking, harassment, blackmail, and even death.