[LINK] Anti-terror computer system plans wide, warrantless ac cess

[Howard Lowndes]

On Mon, 11 Nov 2002, Chirgwin, Richard wrote:

> Howard:
> > It seems the US spooks are really getting ready to spook...  How long
> > before little johnnie catches on...
>
> Well, didn't the softening-up begin recently when Accenture started feeding
> the same line to The Australian? Cross-agency data-matching, e-spooking is
> easier, more important than privacy, no bureaucratic delays, it was all
> there...
>
> My objections to what the Accenture guy said have just become much stronger.
> A fully functioning conspiracy theorist would now wonder why an executive of
> an American company was able to anticipate so perfectly the "pitch" that
> Poindexter would be putting to the NYT.
>
> And what about journalists automatically accepting the claims made on behalf
> of computer systems that do not yet exist?
>
> > instant access to
> > information from e-mail and calling records to credit card, banking
> > transactions and travel records
>
> That word "instant" should have immediately set a working B.S. detector
> twitching.

"Instant" is relative, they could always expand the Echelon concept.

I think an important consideration is that it would only need access to a
small number of databases in order to be able to surveil (??) a large part
of the population.  Gummints only have to legislate or regulate to ensure
that those databases are made available contrary to the Privacy Act
(taking the Oz situation, rather than the US one), but more probably they
would persuade covert acquiecence from the major players anyway.

-- 
Howard.
LANNet Computing Associates - Your Linux people
Contact detail at http://www.lannetlinux.com