Big Brother Big Business

A CNBC report "Big Brother Big Business" describes how businesses collect data and utilize it. Chris Hoofnagle, a privacy advocate, believes that the information society has eroded the privacy we take for granted. Passing laws to protect our privacy is urgently needed because developments over the next 10 years are likely to determine privacy rights for the next 50 years.

Technological advances are being used in ways that ordinary Americans are unaware of: extensive personal data is collected and sold by data mining companies such as Acxiom, black boxes in cars provide crash data that has convicted drivers of vehicular manslaughter, phone companies and Internet providers provide records to the NSA and other government agencies, some employers use GPS to track employee's activities as they drive their routes, and employees at Citywatchers are implanted with microchips similar to pet identification implants.

Charles Morgan, the company leader of Acxiom, is concerned that the government could misuse the information his company collects. Dr. Joseph Atick, one of the fathers of biometrics and CEO of Identix, states that Big Brother will happen if allowed to happen. Wide area surveillance is now technologically feasible, but should not be permitted. Society's needs and values should dictate how we use technology, says Dr. Atick.

In my opinion, if we as a society value privacy we need to demand that our legislators pass laws that will protect our privacy and set limits on how data is collected, stored, sold, and used. 4th Amendment protections currently apply only to our homes. Third parties that have our information, often without our knowledge or consent, should be subjected to limitations that would allow us to maintain more control over our information and allow privacy.


Watch the full 90 minute report at CNBC Big Brother Big Business.