How new tools in the war against terrorism
might affect your privacy
Surveillance New technology makes it
possible to keep a much closer eye on people in public places. Cameras equipped
with facial-recognition software can pick out known criminals in a crowd at
airports, stadiums, and public plazas. Cars and cell phones equipped with
location technology make it possible to track down people to within about 10
feet. Meanwhile, sophisticated X-ray machines that can see through people's
clothes may be more widely deployed at airports, government buildings, and even
corporate lobbies. Many of these technologies have been stymied by privacy
concerns in recent years. But now that fighting terrorism is the nation's No. 1
priority, their use is expected to
increase.
Data-Mining Terrorists leave electronic footprints.
What they buy, where they go, and who they talk to can all be recorded on
credit-card, airline, and ISP computers. By using sophisticated software to
analyze these databases, law enforcers think it may be possible to sniff out
suspicious patterns of conduct--such as the purchase of anthrax by somebody who
has visited a crop-dusting Web site. But while data-mining could be a potent
tool, it also raises serious civil-rights concerns. The same software that looks
for crooks will also analyze the activities of millions of
Americans.
Electronic Eavesdropping Passage is imminent for the
Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government much wider ability to eavesdrop
on calls and e-mail. That won't affect most citizens. But the FBI is also making
greater use of the controversial "Carnivore" system, which lets cops monitor
what suspected criminals do on the Net. The problem is, it also gives lawmakers
tons of data about innocent people. Deployment of Carnivore was largely stalled
prior to September 11, but now the FBI is installing it on some
ISPs.
National Identification Cards Americans traditionally
don't like the idea of national ID cards, which reek of authoritarianism.
President Bush summarily dismissed the notion in September. Still, recent polls
show that U.S. citizens are rethinking their aversion to carrying proof of
citizenship. More than 100 other countries have ID cards, including Spain,
Portugal, Belgium, Finland, and Singapore. They come in many varieties: They can
be issued to everybody or just to certain groups. People can be required to
carry them everywhere or simply to present them before embarking on activities
such as driving a hazardous-materials truck. They can be "dumb," such as a
Social Security card, or "smart," such as a credit card. A digital version of an
individual's fingerprint could be recorded onto a smart national ID card as a
means of verifying identity.
The Big Brother
Scenario Initially, these technologies would be deployed individually.
But since they're all built on digital technology, it is possible to combine
them. Think of it as surveillance convergence. National ID cards could be used
to start a file on citizens. Data from Carnivore, government computers, and
credit-card networks could be fed into that file. It could be linked to
facial-recognition systems to allow the FBI to arrest someone on its terrorist
list after detecting that the person bought potential bomb-making materials at a
mall. Nobody is advocating this system. But it is technically achievable, and
that scares civil-rights advocates.
