High-tech microscopes expose Americans' private lives

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Subject: High-tech microscopes expose Americans' private lives

Posted 11/10/2003 9:15 PM

High-tech microscopes expose Americans' private lives
By Don Campbell

Too many of us (accept) the argument that the concept of personal
privacy in the Internet era is as outdated as the Model T.

Americans can get pretty upset about the ways in which modern
technology drives us nuts - such as telemarketers who disrupt our
dinner and spam e-mailers who make pornographic sales pitches.

But a more insidious invasion of Americans' privacy quietly has taken
root in Florida. It has received little attention from the media
except in Florida and a handful of other states being recruited to
join the enterprise. The project underscores how our fascination with
technology blinds us to violations of our privacy - and highlights
the inadequacy of today's mishmash of federal and state privacy laws.

"MATRIX," an acronym for Multistate Anti-Terrorist Information
Exchange, is, according to its creator, the largest database on the
planet, with more than 20 billion records. Working with the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and $12 million in federal
funding, a company called Seisint designed MATRIX with the objective
of compiling an electronic dossier on every citizen in the nation.

Not surprisingly, the cover story is that MATRIX is needed to fight
terrorism. If that doesn't ping the strings of your patriotic heart,
it's also being touted as the cat's meow when it comes to catching
kidnappers and child molesters.

...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-11-10-campbell_x.htm

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