Sunshine laws

"Sunshine laws" are laws that require certain proceedings of government agencies to be open or available to the public.  The idea is dishonest things typically require cover of darkness and that they are not able to happen when you take that cover away. 

Social media and democratic access to information produces its own type of sunshine.  When consumers can report on experiences, car buyers know the price going in and college professors are rated online it changes the balance of power. Transparency creates honesty both ways. 

I once went to a meeting where the facilities director for one of the largest online app company's said: "Poor performers hide.  It is why transparency is such a big part of the way we design our workspaces." 

For all the references to George Orwell's "Big Brother," cameras also produce a great deal of sunshine. It is hard to argue when your face is shown robbing a convenience store or when an act of police violence is shown on YouTube. 

I've heard many people lament the loss of privacy, but this lack of partition also creates a condition where we are required to be who we really are because people can see all of us.  Facades don't deceive when it is easy to see what is behind them. 

Bring on the sunshine.