Technology And Your Right To Privacy Essay

, Research Paper

Technology and the invasion of privacy and its effects onthe criminal

justice system over

the last 100 years

Will searching the internet for more than 5 hours on this topic I found a

quote that is very

appropriate it says;

Subtler and more far-reaching means of invading privacy have become

available to the

government. Discovery and invention have made it possible for the

government, by

means far more effective than stretching upon the rack, to obtain disclosure

in court of

what is whispered in the closet.

US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandies, 1928

If Justice Brandeis could see the advances in technology, he would realize

just how

prophetic his statement is. He would also be appalled by the new

surveillance technologies

that go far beyond his wildest dreams. Now that the cold war is over,

bureaucracy has

little do but track us from the cradle to the grave, from your bank accounts

to the

bedroom. Several of the technologies created by the defense dept. have begun

to creep

into law enforcement, various civilian agencies and private companies. The

laws on the

books are old in comparison and unable to protect us from violation of our

rights.

I the old west there was no system to keep track of criminals. If someone

was wanted he

picture was posted with a reward. If convicted he was sentenced to what the

judge felt

was appropriate.

In the early 60’s surveillance and tracking was a slow tidious process of

manual and/or

clerical work. To trace a person’s activities you had to physically follow

them, or search

through volumes of card files. It was necessary to contact every one your

suspect came in

contact with. to learn his habits. Electronic surveillance was on a one to

one basis if your

dept was lucky enough to have it. As an example, it took 500,000 east German

secret

informers and 10,000 transcribers just to listen in on it’s citizens

conversations.

Computers capable of storing large amounts of data have revolutionized the

world of

surveillance. The law enforcement benefits are enormous, and government

bureaucracies

have been able to expand their reach and efficiency.

Will technology was expanding private business was also researching it’s

uses. Huge

companies offering credit cards, telephone service, banking and many other

consumer

services began to use computers with massive storage capacity.

In this day and age information on every person in the developed world is

computerized

and stored in several if not hundreds of computers. Your information is

collected,

analyzed and disseminated to….. With computer net works, the net and

links, it is possible

now to track everyone with a single identification number, your social

security number.

With your specific identifier everything about you can be instantly

available. Because

medical, dental, financial and general information is stored in the data

bases, a great deal

of detail about you is readily available. Laws in effect make it difficult

to regulate invasion

of privacy as information travels from state to state or across

international borders.

Through the use of computers, finger prints, ID cards and data matching have

been

implemented. Tracking these items allows the government, business be

selective in all

processes affecting you. Intrusive technologies generally fit into three

categories;

surveillance, identification, and networking. when used together as with

biometrics and ID

cards or video and face recognition, a large segment of the population is

being surveiled

with out knowledge or consent. In a very real sense, what the east Germans

only dreamed

about is becoming a reality here in the United States.

ID technologies have advanced at a vary rapid rate. Use of the Social

Security Number as

ID is rampant. Created in 1938 it was touted as a non-identification number.

It wasn’t

supposed to be used to identify a person. Today you are lost with out it.

Id cards are almost a necessity in todays society. California drivers

license is now

imprinted with all of your vital statistics. In some states this includes a

finger print or a

processing chip to allow instant access to reading devices. In some

countries the

populations required to carry cards that have all of their information

imprinted in the

magnetic strip. With this card the government can track the every individual

and their

habits. In Europe smart cards are being used that can hold several pages of

information. In

the U.S. optical technology is being used that can hold hundreds of pages of

information

on a single chip. An example of this is Florida health care company that has

issued it’s

customers with a card that contains complete medical histories including

x-rays. Once

imputed into a computer the information can be shared with computers any

where. Utah

and other states are considering a smart card to cover all government

services, Like

DMV, welfare and all government functions.

Cards are getting smarter. Active badges used in high tech companies

transmit their

location and can track the whereabouts of the wearer. Law enforcement uses

this

technology in portable radios.

Biometrics is another form of technological advance. In the late 19th

century agencies

began to track unique individual characteristics such as fingerprints. Some

states now

require finger printing for many government services. Modern technology has

digitized

those fingerprints and made them recognizable in an instant. DNA tracking is

now being

used on prisoners. A sample of there DNA is taken while in prison prior to

release, for

possible future use. The US military has also proposed collecting DNA from

all soldiers to

be stored for 75 years. There are no restrictions on how it can be used.

Recently there was

a movie that used DNA to determine the entire life of humans. The DNA was

used to

determine job, social status, length of life and cause of death. To insure

the right person

was in the right spot DNA from cells (hair, skin, oils) was constantly being

collected and

tested. This technology is just around the corner.

All of the above technologies are non invasive and you generally are aware

of its use. New

technology is being refined called facial recognition and facial

thermography. All that is

needed to access your information is a digital camera. You won’t even know

you have

been scanned. Modern data bases are capable of taking scanned information

and

comparing it to 50,000 faces a second. With closed circuit TV in almost

every store Big

Brother will soon be watching. When you enter a store, the sales men will

know wether or

not you can actually afford to purchase that new computer. That assumes the

quality of

information keeps pace with the quantity of information.

Advanced technologies now have the ability to see through walls, overhear

conversations

and track movement. Blood can be found with lasers under painted walls. You

are also

constantly being tracked by your data trail.

Micro electronics now make wireless microphones and video cameras almost

undetectable. Voices can now be heard across open areas with devices that

will fit into a

brief case. Satellites orbit the earth that are capable of watching you walk

across the

street. The list of new technologies is endless.

Digital cash is being used and studied as we sit here. Digital cash as used

in the movie "5th

Element" will track your movements, habits and is capable of being a

listening device. It is

totally controllable by the person at the terminal.

Once data is collected and linked using our unique identifiers, it can be

analyzed and

disseminated to….

the Government already has several data bases in place. The NCIC is just one

example of

a data base with large volumes of information. The FBI is trying to get

radio access to the

NCIC system. Motorola is already offering wireless access to the above

system and bar

code scanning of drivers licenses and cameras for instant picture

transmission.

Potentially ever aspect of your life will soon be in a data base. Even

though the Olstead

decision stated wire tapping was not a search in 1928, recent decisions on

computer data

bases and surveillance technologies has been mixed, and the Olmstead

decision was over

turned in 1968. The courts have required probable cause to violate a persons

privacy.

However the courts generally find that your bank records, phone numbers, and

most

personal information is not subject to a reasonable expectation of privacy

especially if held

by a third party.

A recent court case held that FLIR (forward looking infra red ) was not an

invasion of

privacy because the energy that is released and detected is waste heat.

Another ruled in a

marijuana case that used thermal technologies to track the movement of

people in the

house, that the privacy of the home is not subject to the governments

ability to exploit

technology.

I found a the list below.it says it all…..

A Day in the Life; Or, How to Help Build your

Super File

Adapted from the Privacy Commissioner’s Annual Report: 1995-1996, with

the permission of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Nothing to hide? That’s just as well. From when we get up in the morning

until we

climb into bed at night, we leave a trail of data behind us – for others to

collect,

merge, analyze, massage and even sell, often without our knowledge or

consent.

And in most of Canada (except for Quebec), there is no law against it.

Here are some examples of the electronic trails we leave during a

hypotethical day:

8:30 a.m – You exit your apartment parking lot

Cameras, and possibly a card, record your departure.

8:35 – Pull onto a toll highway

A device records your entry and exit points, in order to send you a bill at

the end of the month.

8:42 – Caught in a traffic jam, you call work to delay a meeting

Cellular phone calls can easily be intercepted, and new personal telephones

will signal your whereabouts to satellites to deliver calls.

9:17 – Enter office parking lot

Card records your entry and its time; automatic cameras monitor the

garage.

9:20 – Enter main office/plant door

"Swipe" cards record your comings and goings; active badges allow others

to locate you anywhere in the building.

9:25 – Log on to your computer

The system records the time you logged in.

9:29 – Send a personal e-mail to a friend, and a business message to a

colleague

Both can later be read by your employer, since simply deleting them does

not erase them from the computer’s hard drive.

10:45 – Call your mother

Supervisors may monitor phone calls.

11:00 – Make a delivery using a company vehicle

Many company vehicles have geo-positioning devices to plot vehicle

locations; some even have "black boxes" to record your driving habits.

12:05 p.m. – Stop at the bank machine

The system records details of your transactions, while cameras overhead or

in the machine record your behaviour.

12:10 – Buy a birthday gift for a friend

Your credit card records details of the purchase, while the retailer’s

"loyalty

card" profiles the purchase for points and directed discounts. Banks may

also use spending patterns to help assemble complete customer profiles.

12:35 – Doctor’s appointment

Health cards will soon contain small computer chips to record your

complete medical history on the card. The blood sample you gave contains

DNA, which could be tested for a wide variety of conditions; the

subsequent doctor’s diagnosis may be disclosed to your insurance company,

and the details sent to a centralized U.S. registry run by the insurance

companies.

1:15 – Pick up your prescription

Some provinces have online drug networks which share your drug history

with pharmacies across the province, and may be disclosed to police

tracking drug abuse.

1:30 – Return to work

Card records your return.

2:45 – Provide urine sample for employer’s new drug testing program

Reveals use of targeted drugs, though not of impairment. Sample may also

reveal the use of legal drugs such as birth control pills, insulin and

anti-depressants.

3:30 – Meeting in a secure area

Pass through a security check, which scans your retina to confirm identity.

5:30 – Complete first draft of report

Your computer not only records your content, but can also store

information about keyboard speed, error rate, and the lengths of pauses and

absences.

6:15 – Leave the office

Your exit is recorded by the computer, the entry system and the parking

lot.

6:30 – Buy groceries

Your debit card records the purchase, while a loyalty card tracks your

selections for marketing and targeted discounts.

6:45 – Pick up a video

The store’s computer records your Social Insurance Number and viewing

preferences. This may allow the store to sell your viewing preferences (say,

Erotica) to other companies.

7:20 – Listen to phone messages

Your phone has recorded callers’ phone numbers, and will also (unless you

enter a code to block it) display your number when you call others.

8:20 – Order clothing from catalogue

The catalogue company records your personal details and credit card

number, and may sell the information to database-list marketers.

8:30 – Subscribe to a new magazine

Magazines routinely sell their subscribers’ lists to mass mailers.

8:35 – Take call from a survey company

Such companies gather political views, social attitudes and personal views,

though some surveys are actually marketing calls to collect personal data

for future sales. The legitimate surveys destroy personal identifiers once

the

data are processed.

8:45 – Political canvasser comes to your door

Political contributions of more than $100 (the amounts, and the party

they’re contributed to) are listed in public records.

9:10 – Log onto the Internet

Your choice of chat groups and your messages can be monitored, and a

profile can be assembled by anyone – including the police. Some Web sites

monitor your visits.

Increasingly, living a modern urban life seems to mean there is nowhere to

hide. In

our search for security and convenience, are we hitching ourselves to an

electronic

leash?

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has a full version of the 1996-1997

Annual Report online. (The 1995-96 report is also available, in a

self-extracting

compressed file format.)

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