The 911 Commission Report and the Markle Foundation's Reco mmendations

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...... Forwarded Message .......
From: Christopher Effgen <build () gci net>
To: dave () farber net
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 08:35:30 -0800
Subj: The 911 Commission Report and the Markle Foundation's Reco mmendations

The 911 Commission Report and the Markle Foundation's Recommendations
By Christopher Effgen
The Disaster Center
July 28, 2004
The 911 Commission Report endorses the Markle Foundation proposals calling
for the establishment of Networked Community for Homeland Security that
would more aggressively process personal information than the Total
Information Network. The Foundation while calling for public discussion of
issues involved in the use of such a system is also calling for the
President of the United States to implement it by Executive Order.
The logic of their argument goes like this:
We can not protect every target that terrorists might attack. What is needed
therefore is an intelligence system that will enable us to detect peoples'
intentions, which will be able to give us enough warning, so that we can
stop terrorists before they have time to act.
The Markle Foundation explains:
This can be done in such a way as to protect the traditional privacy that
the law affords us and it can not be done if the people do not trust their
government.
The Markle Foundation proposal envisions the establishment of computer
network in which Federal agencies, the States, and local governments can
share information about everyone. In addition, agencies by using this
network will be able to access all publicly and privately held information
about you, including your financial and medical records. The system will
also be able to use artificial intelligent agents to look for patterns and
come to conclusions that no mind human mind could possibly reach.
To make the network work it is important to be able to positively associate
individuals with the data that the private sector and government collects
about them, therefore an infants identity will need to be associated with a
biometrics identifier at birth. To make the system work local officials will
work with participants in both the public and private sector to contribute,
access, use and analyze your personal data so that they can identify,
access, and communicate personal data about you.
The Markle Foundation maintains that this can be done is such a way so as to
enhance your traditional privacy rights and other civil liberties. The
Foundation also maintains that the only way that this network can be
established, and be accountable for the proper balance between development
of domestic intelligence and the preservation of liberty. Therefore the
President needs to create this network by Executive Order.
We are entering the Digital Age. In this age you don't have any rights that
can be considered to be traditional, because the substance of your identity
is being digitized. For example, "A whole industry has sprung up consisting
of firms that collect, aggregate, and mine that data for a variety of tasks
including employment screening, marketing, and risk assessments. In most
cases these firms neither seek nor require the approval of the subject of
the information and the legal constraints are few except with regard to a
small number of sensitive areas, such as health records."
Traditionally, there are no privacy rights associated with the uses of
public information. Our entry into the Digital Age has created uses for that
data that are not traditional. It has created means and methods by which you
can communicate information and in which information about you can be
collected, shared and processed that were inconceivable even ten years ago.
Without your knowledge or consent to be subject to the processes your
liberty, to be eligible for credit, considered for employment, vote, and
rent an apartment is being determined by use of databases with information
associated with people who have similar dates of birth, names, and
government issued identity numbers.
"Although there are consequences associated with the data's being available
in the private sector (such as the loss of job opportunities, credit
worthiness, or public embarrassment) the consequences of government access
to and use of the data can be far reaching, and can include loss of
liberty." The issue here, in both cases, is use of data without your
knowledge and consent, and associated the a government issued identity
document, to affect your liberty. While the Markle Foundation employees
doesn't see any liberty implication when private corporations classify you,
deny you employment, credit and embarrassment without their knowledge and
consent to the process, they would probably feel differently if they were
subject to the same consequences.

The proposal that the only way that this network can be created is by
Executive Order is false on two points. It can not be established by
Executive Order and while I doubt Congress would do it Congress would need
to pass legislation altering privacy laws and cooperation from the States
and private sector would also be required.

The proposed use of artificial intelligence agents is interesting, but also
would be a block to the plan. The people subject to analysis by these agents
would include users of the network, both as users and as individuals whose
records were also accessible through the network. As users the network would
create personality profiles of the user. This would be necessary for a
number of the proposed purposes of the network. Their employers and others
would use their personal profile to determine what access would be granted
to the network and who could access their work product. They would also be
subject to criminal prosecution for misuse of the system and their future
carrier could be determined by information in the network that they would
not be permitted to access.

In order to anticipate who might engage in a terrorist act, in the future,
data about everyone would have to be accessible to the network. The truth is
that everyone might engage in a terrorist act. The proposed network could
only figure out who may or may not engage in a terrorist act until it had
enough data to pass judgement on everyone.

If the Markle proposal were to stop here it would be bad enough, but the
foundation believes that once such a network is created it would be a waste
if the network weren't used for other purposes.
There is a real need for a workable system to process information that can
be helpful in mitigating the risk/threat of terrorism. Unfortunately, this
proposal is a waste of time. I will not waste your or my time by continuing
my discussion about why this proposal will not work and should not go
forward. It is unfortunate that the 911 Commission put its prestige behind
backing this proposal.

This document is located at:
http://www.disastercenter.com/911_6.htm
Other commentaries related to the 911 Commission Report are located at:
The Disaster Center
www.disastercnter.com


Yours Sincerely

Christopher M. Effgen




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