IP: BIG BROTHER-IN-LAW: Edupage, April 13, 2001

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> BIG BROTHER-IN-LAW
> The specter of Big Brother is looming ever larger as federal
> agencies such as the FBI and IRS continue to outsource their
> data-collection projects. The personal data of tens of millions
> of U.S. citizens is vulnerable to FBI agents who can enter a
> special Web page that provides access to personal data culled
> by the private sector. ChoicePoint, Lexis-Nexis, and other
> companies provide these services by rummaging through publicly
> available sources to collect the data. Electronic Privacy
> Information Center lawyer Marc Rotenberg said the government's
> practices amount to a violation of the 1974 Privacy Act. An
> FBI spokesperson denies this charge, noting that the agency's
> data-collection efforts are subjected to "a vigorous inspection
> process." Further, the spokesman pointed out that the data
> collection has helped uncover some 1,300 potential criminals.
> (Wall Street Journal, 13 April 2001)



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