"There is an ongoing debate over the role of WikiLeaks, which claims to refrain from taking political positions on the information it gathers, noted Albert Gidari, director of privacy at The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.
One argument is that any culpability for harm resulting from the release of private information lies with the governments and private organizations that collect the data in the first place.
"It's a lousy system that requires post hoc remedial action after the damage has been done," said Gidari."