The Death of Privacy
My wife recently applied for a job on line with a major US corporation. Within minutes, she received an email asking her to confirm that she was associated with another individual who works for the company, a close friend of our daughter. The HR department had apparently automatically screened Facebook and other social networking sites to come up with the information. The lesson learned is that the internet works two ways. It is a remarkable tool and source of information but it also creates a vulnerability vis-à-vis those who are seeking to find out about a user. Revealing private, personal information on a web site is risky to say the least. There is an important case that will reach the Supreme Court early next year that also relates to how the advances in technology impact on our liberties. It involves the police use of GPS positioning devices in investigations. Currently, the police use the devices without a court order or any judicial oversight. Attached to a suspect’s car, the devices provide a complete log of where someone goes over the time period that the GPS is in place. For many, the sheer volume of information obtained constitutes an illegal search and is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, but the case is much more important than that. The technologies that bring you computers and smart phones are also intrusive, which means that private companies collect details of everything you do and learn more and more about your activities, information that is frequently used for marketing purposes. But the government thinks it has a right to that information also, to aid in its “investigations.” Unless a legal framework is somehow put in place requiring judicial oversight, the police will be able to obtain detailed information on anyone simply by going to the companies that provide communications and other technical services to the public. Unless the police are judicially restrained on this issue, the age of Big Brother will have truly arrived. © Copyright 2011 Campaign for Liberty |