ESR spotlight on privacy issues
Recent articles about privacy issues that have run in Enter Stage Right
Mark Zuckerberg’s 'listening tour’ stops in DC: Mark Zuckerberg recently stopped in Washington, D.C. to answer questions on privacy and censorship and Michael R. Shannon can't say he was very impressed by the CEO's answers
The escalating war on cash and what it means for metals: People are increasingly being forced into electronic transactions, a potential attack on privacy and economic liberty, writes Clint Siegner, which makes precious metals all that more attractive
Big Brother is a bugging me!: In response to the news that the U.S. federal government is data mining hundreds of millions of its citizens, Harold Witkov offers up a humble poem
Our privacy has been plundered: It doesn't matter where you turn, argues Jane Gaffin, the government has managed to insert surveillance capabilities in almost every commercial electronics product or service
It's the profiling, stupid!: If profiling is bad -- even if its terrorists who are the target -- why the left is giving the Obama administration a pass over data mining, wonders Mark Alexander
Living in the government's fishbowl: News of the American federal government's massive spying program on its citizens means its time to make some changes, argues Alan Caruba
Liberty, security, privacy, Big Brother, and the concept of the common good: Barack Obama in the past has asked Americans to trust him. David Huntwork says recent revelations have proven why that was a bad idea
E-verify and the emerging surveillance state: Subjecting all Americans to an international databank: Tom DeWeese argues that a system designed to insure illegal aliens are being hired for jobs will end up forcing Americans to surrender more of their liberty
Opposition to national ID continues to grow: States are beginning to realize that the Real ID Act will be an expensive exercise in citizen control and are refusing to go along with the federal government, writes Tom DeWeese
What's nobody's business is everybody's: What Lady Liberty does in her private life is none of your damned business. And it's important that you care that it's none of your damned business
Your Social Security number - Abounding availability: Proposed congressional legislation would make it far more difficult for your Social Security Number to be used and abused, reports Stephen M. Lilienthal
When property goes, so does privacy: It's been getting some bad press recently but Amy Peikoff believes that Google should be praised for resisting the federal government's request for search data
You're under surveillance: The NSA wiretapping phonecalls between Americans and foreigners linked to al-Qaida may make you nervous but Alan Caruba points out that all Americans are under surveillance every single day of their lives and no one ever complains about it
Big Brother is getting bigger: 1984 used to just be a novel but these days the technologies and tactics George Orwell described and feared six decades ago are being translated into reality today, writes Lady Liberty
South Asian spying eyes: Is China planning on eventually RFID tagging every single one of its citizens? Frederick W. Stakelbeck Jr. says that the communist giant has all but announced its intention to lead the world in the use of the tracking technology
Privacy rights eroding down slippery slope: All across the United States, writes Wendy McElroy, privacy rights are increasingly taking a backseat to whatever they're put up against
Wake up, America!: The passage of the REAL ID Act, argues Lady Liberty, is the nail in the coffin that civil libertarians have been dreading for decades and one that Americans should be fighting
Stop worrying -- You can still have Elvis on your driver's license: The REAL ID Act has prompted outrage from civil libertarians on the grounds that it creates what amounts to a national ID card for Americans. Frank Salvato responds that fear is overblown
I'm ready for my close-up!: During her visit to Washington, D.C. last week, Lady Liberty truly felt like she was the center of the universe thanks to the thousands of cameras that kept track of her every movement
Sneak attack: December 7 was the anniversary of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and it was also the day an attack occurred against American civil liberties, writes Lady Liberty
Who wants to know?: Lady Liberty says that some information should be available publicly -- it aids in the transparency of government -- but sometimes far too much personal information is released
Mandatory mental health screening threatens privacy, parental rights: The fight to block the mental health screening of Americans, including children, was lost in the House, writes Wendy McElroy, but it isn't over yet
Is CAPPS II our ticket to better aviation security?: CAPPS II seems to be based on the wrong premise, says Steve Lilienthal, and Americans are owed more than simple promises that the system is actually going to do what the government is telling Americans it will do
Sleeping better in Seattle: Passing the SAFE Act resolution: Steve Lilienthal hails Democrats and Republicans who worked together in Metropolitan King County to call the Bush administration to task for its excesses in the USA PATRIOT Act
Toward a conservative conception of privacy: Steve Lilienthal urges everyone to remember that the battle for your privacy shouldn't be confined to simply targeting the federal government. The war has many fronts that need soldiers
Better now than later: Tightening the USA-PATRIOT Act: It's still not too late to reign in the USA PATRIOT Act, argues Steve Lilienthal. The SAFE Act would rectify many of the serious problems introduced by the legislation designed to aid law enforcement in fighting terrorism
Take the money and run: Clark and CAPPS II: Americans don't have to wonder where Wesley Clark stands on the issue of their liberty. Steve Lilienthal says the money speaks for itself
Constitutional liberties on standby: What's the latest threat to the personal liberty of Americans? Steve Lilienthal says it's called CAPPS II and it's a database that identifies passengers on airlines by a color-coded risk assessment
USA PATRIOT riding into the sunset: Paul Weyrich argues that unless John Ashcroft is willing to admit that there are problems with the USA PATRIOT Act he shouldn't be surprised by the battle conservative groups are putting up
Total surveillance equals total tyranny: Who are the winners when government expands surveillance of its citizens? Tom DeWeese says it isn't the citizens
Losing our liberty in the name of fighting terrorism: Tom DeWeese says recent victories in the House of Representatives that blunt the powers of the Patriot Act aren't written in stone
Adding privacy to Patriot: Legislation offered up in the Senate should correct some of the more egregious aspects of the Patriot Act, writes Steve Lilienthal
Protecting the privacy of the law-abiding citizens: The Terrorism Information Awareness program may look dead right now but Steve Lilienthal says the program is like a vampire. You have to keep the stake in it
Complexities of federal data mining: With the power of data mining, argues Steve Lilienthal, the federal government will be able to make a lot of assumptions about you and some of them could cost you
The dangers of letting police into our genes: Rachel Marsden isn't thrilled by the prospect that one day soon police will be collecting DNA evidence from you even if you're innocent
Homeland Insecurity: Deconstructing the Constitution: The mid-term elections may have been an overwhelming Republican victory, writes Tom DeWeese, but constitutionalists and conservatives don't have much to cheer about in the coming months
Big Brother really is watching: William S. Lind says the government is using September 11 to justify a lot of things. Including not allowing him to renew his driver's license
Government databases: The case against centralization: Centralized computer databases are a wonderful thing for benevolent governments, writes Christopher Kilmer, except when it comes to your privacy
Surrendering our privacy from cradle to grave: Since he's born, Doug Patton figures there are a lot of federal and state files with information about him out there
FISA -- It's not everywhere you want it to be: Christopher Kilmer says the USA PATRIOT Act takes Americans back to the bad old days of the 1950s when little prevented intelligence agencies from spying on them
National ID: Who will protect us from the "The System?": Contrary to what groups like the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators believe, securing a national ID system would be quite difficult. Computer consultant David Jansen explains why
Money laundering laws won't stop international terrorism: Bert Ely says that money laundering provisions contained in the USA PATRIOT Act do more to attack the liberties of Americans than it does to stop the flow of money to terrorists
Warrantless searches or constitutional protections?: A proposal to subject outgoing international mail to warrantless searches goes to far in protecting Americans in the current war on terror, argues J. Bradley Jansen
Protect our postal privacy: What's the latest government agency Americans should be wary about when it comes to privacy? Troy Felvor says it's the U.S. Postal Service
Central data banks and American justice: What could a centralized government database do for you? You could be arrested for not returning a video you may never have rented, as Tom DeWeese relates
Doctors question teens without parental consent: Did you know that your children can be questioned without your consent or knowledge by doctors? Wendy McElroy reports on the latest intrusion into your family's privacy
Security and privacy: Can the two coexist?: Dan Arico says it is possible to institute a national ID card system that is both secure and protects your privacy
Is face recognition just high-tech snake oil?: Mike Krause isn't sold on the claims made by companies selling their face recognition technology. A recent ACLU study found that at least one system wasn't all that it was cracked up to be
Too late to stop national ID: Roger F. Gay wonders why people are so up in arms over the concept of a national ID card. A central system to track you has already been set up and few people complained at the time
Who is minding your business?: Walking down the street without a care in the world? Lisa Walker says you'll feel that way until you find out you are being watched
Prying eyes: The rise of the traffic light surveillance system spells nothing but trouble for Americans, writes Lisa D. Dean. The time to act is now
Information exchange dangers: J. Bradley Jansen is a little worried about the increased sharing of information between governments and agencies. The privacy chain is only as strong as its weakest link
Threat of "Know Your Customer" still lingers: It would have been bad enough had the Know Your Customer law passed into law but now an international organization wants to impose the same Big Brother program, says Lisa S. Dean
What has happened to our privacy?: House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and Virginia Gov. James Gilmore are fighting the installation of cameras across the nation court
