Fergie's Tech Blog

As Tech Advances, Privacy Laws Lag

Joseph Menn and James S. Granelli write in The Los Angeles Times:

Never has it been so easy to know so much about so many.

Thursday's disclosure that three of the nation's biggest telephone companies gave customer calling records to the National Security Agency again demonstrates that technology is rewriting the rules of privacy faster than the law can adapt.

And with their powerful database programs tracking a massive amount of personal details of Americans' daily lives, a growing number of companies find themselves sandwiched between the privacy expectations of their customers and the national security demands of the federal government.

"It's so easy to say yes," said technology security expert Bruce Schneier. "The government sings a patriotic song, and you want to do what's right. We all want to band together."

posted by Fergie @ 5/12/2006 10:18:00 AM