About Six Lines

Six Lines is a blog about technology policy, computer security, privacy, and ethics by Aaron Massey. The name and unifying theme of this blog come from the following quote:

"Give me six lines written by the most honorable of men, and I will find an excuse in them to hang him."Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu was a power-hungry authoritarian who understood key elements of security and privacy. Small mistakes can result in big problems, particularly in computing where a simple programming error can have complex repercussions. Richelieu knew that even honorable people attempting to do the right thing sometimes end up hurting their cause and always have something innocent that can be used against them in the right context. This last element is critical for privacy. We all have something that could be used against us unfairly.

I’m not a luddite. I love technology. Part of the reason I chose to name this site Six Lines is that I am consistently amazed that even six lines of code in the hands of an expert can accomplish quite a lot of work. My interest broadened to include the political and ethical implications of technology after reading Secrets and Lies and Database Nation as an undergraduate student at Purdue. I still think of myself as an engineer and scientist at heart, and I approach politics with an open mind and a heavy reliance on data, reason, and logic. I favor small governments, free markets, peace, fiscal conservatism, and social liberalism.

One critically important aspect of my background is my religion. I’m a Christian. Unfortunately, that claim alone may be more misleading than illuminating. I’m an Exvangelical, but that term is more a description of what I’m not than of what I am. There may no longer be a meaningful, broadly and commonly understood term that accurately describes my beliefs.

Because Six Lines is a one-man operation, you may want to know more about me. To that end, here is a paragraph that I use as a short bio for conferences and presentations:

Dr. Aaron Massey is a Manager of Specialty Compliance and Ethics at Walmart, where he focuses on online tracking technologies. His expertise lies at the intersection of privacy, security, software engineering, technology policy, and ethics, developed through a career spanning academia, government, and industry. He is passionate about understanding technology and its impact on individuals and society. He’s worked in roles including Technologist and Senior Policy Analyst at the Future of Privacy Forum, Policy Technologist at the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He’s also served as a Google Policy Fellow and the Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Research Ethics Fellowship at NCSU. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from Purdue University and advanced degrees in Computer Science from North Carolina State University.

For more information on my professional background, please see my LinkedIn page.

All content posted on Six Lines represents my own personal opinion and not the opinion of any of my current or past employers.

This page was last updated on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.