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Your Privacy IS Your
Identity
by
Dick Jones
The recent reports of the theft
of nearly one-half million personal records from Lexis-Nexis and Choicepoint
should sound an alarm to everyone. The more so because they are only the tip
of the iceberg. Identity Theft has become big business.
Current safeguards for our
electronic identities seem to be absent, or ineffective. Further
safeguards will not be implemented if this industry, and the government,
have their way. FSI will be reporting on the disturbing trends in
individual privacy rights in America on a regular basis.
Though the major media in
America report the big flashy "Identity Theft" stories that
scream for attention, these are treated as isolated incidents, rather than
as disturbing milestones on the road to our total loss of control of the
intimate historical, financial, and medical information that define of us.
These are non-partisan American
issues. Everyone's individual welfare is at stake in this area, whether you
are a Democrat, a Republican, a Green, or a Libertarian. How is it possible
that the citizens of every country in Europe, and many other countries as
well, enjoy legal protections for the privacy of their personal information
that are far superior to ours??
The American Civil Liberties
Union may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they have been an early
leader in this critical area. They have published an excellent primer on the
critical issues surrounding our need to insure our individual electronic
privacy. It's called, The Surveillance Industrial Complex Report,
and it is available for free from the ACLU's Privacy & Technology Page:
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/PrivacyMain.cfm
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