Privacy Wars
228 words.
Amid the uproar about the Prez wiretapping everybody’s phones, I thought it would be fun to pass along a couple other privacy issues from today’s news.
Mercury News reports that “the Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases” (Feds after Google data). Fortunately, Google is refusing their request. “The government argues that it needs the information as it prepares to once again defend the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act in a federal court in Pennsylvania.” But what else might they do with information about our online search habits? I hope they don’t find anyone searching for “al-Queda.”
Reuters reports that banks may be requiring biometric or radio frequency identification in five years (Less waiting, fingerprint check coming to your bank). ‘“The bank wants to be able to identify the customer the minute they walk in and understand why they are there,” said Mike Redding, head of development for Accenture Technology Labs.’ How’s that for disturbing? And as if that weren’tt bad enough: ‘Away from the branch, other financial services applications set to feature includes telematics, or automotive data collection, which could see more insurers analysing journeys and offering “pay-as-you-drive” cover[age] for motorists.’ They’ll know who we are in the banks, and they’ll know where we are on the streets.
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