Books |
No Place to Hide
Robert O'Harrow Jr.
By
Published: Jan 01, 2006
Category:
Non Fiction
My wife never calls me when I’m at a meeting, so at first I thought she was kidding — how could I be the prime suspect in a car fraud in Phoenix? But I took the detective’s number and called Phoenix. And damned if I wasn’t the guy who sold the car that didn’t exist and collected real money for it.
Of course that wasn’t me, it was just a guy with my name and address and enough information about my credit and finances to grab a piece of my identity. Soon enough the detective understood this. I’m no longer the prime suspect.
Except, perhaps, on a data bank that the government is scanning right now. Some are now making an issue of this surveillance, on the theory that it is an unconstitutional invasion of our right to privacy. Sounds correct, in theory. But as "No Place to Hide" reveals, this is not some post 9/11, politically motivated plot to spy on Americans in our homeland. This effort goes back to the Clinton years, and to the desire of law enforcement to harness computer power.
O’Harrow quotes the Clinton’s privacy counselor: "We’re heading toward a security-industrial complex." And he wondered, "What will happen to our private lives if we’re under constant surveillance?"
Well, by the evidence of this book, we’re pretty much there.
O’Harrow presents a quick history of the government’s dark involvement with domestic surveillance ("dark" because, instead of looking for criminals, spies or terrorists, the technology tends to be used to monitor political opponents). He presents technology in vivid, easy-to-understand terms — a "petabyte" of information, or a thousand trillion bytes, could make "a 50,000-mile-high stack of King James Bibles." And did you know the Furby — that fuzzy toy — has more computer power than the first Apollo lunar module?
Where O’Horrow shines is in his profiles of companies that gather information about you. They’re very smart. Like with product warranties. You fill them out, don’t you? Because, of course, you want the guarantee to apply. But did you know the guarantee is automatic — no card required. So why do they even ask you to send in a warranty card? So they can learn more about you.
And this data is proliferating. In part, that’s our fault. There are 3 billion Master Card and Visa cards in circulation; the average American has ten. That generates a steady stream of updated information. That also makes it easier for Al Qaeda to get cards; arrested terrorists often have 20, with 20 different names. (Information still on paper? It can be scanned — at 5,000 pages per hour.)
Bank computers can be programmed to anticipate the arrival of your paycheck. They can tell when you’re going on vacation. They can figure out how much you spend on a date, and when you’re about to get married.
Note that the government is not usually the agency of electronic surveillance. Companies do it. That makes sure the government doesn’t violate your rights. Later, the companies may turn that information over to the government. Like: your bank. Why would it share your information with the government? Well, if it wants to expand and needs regulatory approval….
Can we stop this? Nope. It’s too late, O’Harrow says. We can run. But we can’t hide. "The story isn’t pretty," he concludes.
Why read this book? So you know. After all, they know all about you — it might be shrewd for you to learn at least a little about them.
To buy "No Place to Hide" from Amazon.com, click here.
