Is That Legal?

One reason Europeans are fairly adamant about data protection/privacy issues is that they know that collected data will be used in any way that those who possess it wish - so the best defense is not to collect data, which often conflicts with other well meaning or practical considerations. Watching how reflexively Germans refuse any attempt to collect personal data is interesting, to put it mildly, at least when approached in a typical American setting such as a store.

The next best solution is to collect data without personal reference, along with a fairly stringent legal oversight framework.

One of the reasons the U.S. is now slipping so quickly into a nightmare is because such pragmatic European concerns in terms of data collection are considered 'conspiracy theories.'

Only if your idea of a conspiracy is a government which decides that habeas corpus is worthless, torture a useful tool, and wiretapping is a law enforcement right, not a privilege.

Of course the Census data was used - and any speculation of how that data has been used over the last 2 generations would be overshadowed by the entire American data industry, which can happily sell information to anyone, with a level of granularity that even Stasi could only dream of.

But then, when Safeway first offered discount cards in connection with barcode scanners, pointing out the basic details of how the system worked was considered off the wall, to put it mildly (unless you were a Safeway executive, in which case you were happy at the revenue potential).

One standard data protection lesson in Germany is how the social welfare rolls of the 1920s and early 1930s formed the basis for a democratically elected government to deal with unhealthy social elements - and with a certain dedication to cost effectiveness, too, it must be noted.

I guess the simple point is that data privacy has only existed in the U.S. to the extent that data was not collected, not due to any legal protections or social consensus as is currently the case in Europe. And trying to educate Americans about this is ironically frustrating - in the political system which first granted a right against self-incrimination, the idea of data privacy is rejected with the argument that only wrong-doers need to worry about where their charitable contributions go, for example. Well, as long it sounds Islamic - a lot of Bostonians and New Yorkers seem to stay off the no-fly list after all their contributions to IRA front charities. But at least Ted Kennedy was correctly handled by TSA as a terrorist supporter - which must mean that the system works, at least in part. Just needs a bit more tweaking, possibly a bit more biometric data - or maybe DNA, which could be really useful in improving American society along scientific lines. I'm sure all patriotic Americans would be willing to donate a bit of themselves to make the land of the free and the home of the brave an even brighter beacon of liberty. And those who don't? Well, maybe they get to see whether Halliburton can do a better job feeding inmates than it does soldiers - which shouldn't be too hard, on reflection.

Wow - post a rant, find a link.

http://wunderland.com/WTS/Ginohn/cetera/HSPD-12/HSPD-12.html

This is amazing - and unthinkable in today's Europe.

If you wish to be cynical, you can see this as just another way for well connected 'contractors' to make money from American tax dollars - but then, running a police state for profit is somehow so thoroughly American - becoming the world's first free market totalitarian state is beyond ironic.

I may add I grew up with security clearances being a major part of daily life in Northern Virginia - not just military or intelligence, but also banking and justice system, but seeing this at such a scale brings to mind what such tools are useful for - whether you call them purges or pogroms is just a matter of perspective.