Technology And Your Right To Privacy

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