The Dark Side of Transparency: When Hiding in Plain Sight Works
73 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2021 Last revised: 30 Mar 2023
Date Written: March 29, 2023
Abstract
A hider publicly commits to the number of seekers and then privately gets involved in a story, which may be compromising. Each seeker aims to be the first to learn and report a compromising story. The seekers learn the story privately and in continuous time. With more seekers, the hider's story gets revealed at a faster rate, but each seeker gets discouraged and ceases learning more quickly. To reduce the probability of a compromising report, the hider may optimally choose infinitely many seekers. Nevertheless, the hider unambiguously benefits from making it harder for each seeker to learn her story.
Keywords: transparency, Poisson process, strategic experimentation, private learning, privacy paradox
JEL Classification: C73, D82, D83
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation