Secrecy

Secrecy involves hiding information from people or groups who lack a "need to know," while possibly sharing it with others. The hidden information is called a secret. Whether secrecy is controversial depends on what the secret is, who is keeping it, and why.

There are several ways to maintain secrecy. Encoding or encryption uses math and technology to conceal messages.

True secrecy restricts who can access a message, such as through government security classifications. Obfuscation hides secrets in plain sight using complex jargon or steganography. In 1948, Claude Shannon proposed three communication secrecy systems: concealment systems (like invisible ink or hiding a message in harmless text), privacy systems (requiring special equipment to recover the message, such as voice inversion), and true secrecy systems (where the message's meaning is hidden by cipher or code, though its existence is not hidden, and the enemy is assumed to have interception equipment).

Sociology

In sociology, animals hide their dens or nests from predators, and squirrels bury nuts to remember later. Humans consciously hide aspects of themselves due to shame, fear of violence, rejection, harassment, loss of acceptance, or job loss. They may also conceal parts of themselves they cannot psychologically integrate. Families often maintain "family secrets," obliging members not to discuss disagreeable issues with outsiders or even within the family, using an agreed-upon official story.

This secrecy is often coerced through shaming and appeals to family honor, and the information can be as trivial as a recipe. Secrets are also kept for the pleasure of surprise, such as surprise parties, avoiding story spoilers, or protecting magic tricks. In game theory, keeping one's strategy secret is important. In anthropology, sharing secrets helps establish traditional relations between people, as illustrated in Joseph Conrad's short story "The Secret Sharer."

Government

Governments often hide information from other governments and the public. These state secrets can include weapon designs, military plans, diplomatic tactics, and intelligence obtained illicitly. Most nations have Official Secrets Acts (like the U.S. Espionage Act) and classify material by needed protection level, requiring security clearances and safes.

Few dispute keeping Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information secret, but many see government secrecy as excessive and politically motivated. Many countries have laws limiting it, such as the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and sunshine laws. Government officials sometimes leak secrets they are supposed to keep.

Secrecy in elections is a growing issue, especially regarding vote counts on computerized machines. While voting, citizens act as sovereign owners selecting their government, and some argue secrecy is impermissible in this area where government derives its power. Permissible secrecy varies by context.

Corporations

Corporations, from for-profit multinationals to nonprofits, keep secrets for competitive advantage, legal requirements, or to conceal wrongdoing. Trade secret laws protect new products, unique manufacturing techniques, or customer lists. Research on corporate secrecy examines factors supporting secret organizations, particularly how firms in cartels work together to maintain secrecy and hide activities from antitrust authorities. The diversity of participants, in terms of firm age and size, influences this.