From today\’s New York Times comes this news:
In the Pentagon research effort to detect terrorism by electronically monitoring the civilian population, the most remarkable detail may be this: Most of the pieces of the system are already in place.
Because of the inroads the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems, cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and credit-card payment terminals.
Complete article. Library Juice recently reprinted Ben Brunk\’s interesting posting to the Politech listserv on why the government\’s plans for \”total information awareness\” may be doomed to fail, however – or at least be far more problematic and costly than Tom Ridge et al would have us believe.
Recent Comments