Wanted By The FBI: Everyone's Data?

In the beginning was the fingerprint.

It was in the 19th century that scientists realized the ridged whorls on the tip of the finger constituted a unique marker that could be used to tell one person from another. And eventually, the FBI built a massive database of fingerprints.

Then came DNA. In the 20th century, scientists learned to use the double helix nucleic acid molecule as a means of identification even more definitive than the fingerprint. And the FBI built a DNA database as well. Now the feds are building yet another database. And it has some folks worried.

Maybe you missed it in the run-up to Super Duper Tuesday when the Associated Press reported last week that the FBI will soon award a $1 billion, 10-year contract for construction of an electronic file that would store not just fingerprints and DNA, but a vast compendium of other physical characteristics. We're talking eye scans, facial shape, palm prints, scars, tattoos and other biometrics, all for the purpose of identifying and capturing bad guys.

But at least one privacy advocate thinks even good guys — and gals — have cause for concern. Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project, told CNN, "It's the beginning of the surveillance society where you can be tracked anywhere, any time and all your movements, and eventually all your activities will be tracked and noted and correlated."

I know what some of you are saying and it makes a certain amount of sense: If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about. Well, I haven't done wrong, but it worries me just the same.

The government has for years collected fingerprints — not just of criminals, but also of certain job applicants. What's happening now, it could be reasonably argued, is only a high-tech extension of that. Except that instead of just your fingerprints, the government will also have on file the shape of your iris, that scar from your appendectomy and the tattoo on your inner thigh.

It's a discomfiting reminder of the totalitarian states of "Fahrenheit 451" and "1984," oppressive regimes that saw everything, knew everything, regulated everything. Given the advances in technology and the ominous, Orwellian turn our government has lately taken, the comparison seems far less far-fetched than once it might have.

It's not just the government, though. In recent years, the right to privacy, the right to simply be left alone, has also been eroded by the corporate community — everything from supermarket discount cards that track your buying habits to online businesses that install secret spyware in your computer. And we haven't even mentioned that there is a camera on every street corner nowadays.

"I always feel like somebody's watching me." That used to be just the hook from a schlocky '80s song. Increasingly, it is an apt description of modern life.

Now the FBI proposes to collect and collate still more personal information. It swears the information will be protected, and will be used only to ferret out criminals.

But I can't help a certain wariness when I consider the ease with which the program could expand far beyond that mission. As Steinhardt sees it, first criminals, then job applicants and then, "Eventually, it's going to be everybody."

I admit, he might be wrong. But you know something? He might not.

Leonard Pitts Jr. is a syndicated writer in Washington.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• fbi
• data
• dna
• computer
• science
• physical
• police
• state

[neonanon]

People will probably dismiss this video as simply paranoid propaganda but, unfortunately, this shit is true. Good vid.

[milothemusician]

let me just say, the mac reader is a bit much.

but what you're saying is true.

fuck this police state. i'm done with it.

[Greenspots84]

I can't stand to listen to this because of the voice.

[Zedos777]

it is true there are no wars on countries no more!

just the corporate world vs the civillian!

this is only one part of the puzzle my friend, google and facebook are just FBI info gathering tools! and the internet was built ontop of the already existing military internet.

and all electronics equipment controlled by the blue chip or echelon system,

metal gear solid is the best source of info on most of this but is also a bit fictional too!

[Hallucination14]

@silentfades Well first of all the death penalty is ridiculous. Second our DNA sequencing techniques arent nearly advanced enough to make convictions on DNA alone. Third most people dont have their DNA in a database unless they are a past offender so the police cannot find them even if they have a DNA sample because they have no records to compare it with.

[justmegilbert]

@Mooknuc1 Yea we know who the modern nazi' s are, but we learnd from the past that they always looses the wars finaly

[justmegilbert]

well as i see, the KGB has won the cold war hahahahahha

The US stoot for freedom?

Now they want the same controll as the KGB got in the past lol

The US are looserssssssssssssssssssssss

[silentfades]

This was over 2yrs and I dont see any of this going on -

I am all for this and of the mind that if you have nothing to hide why not?

For those against it have a relative of yours murdered or child kidnapped and the police unable to find the suspect until thier DNA shows up on a data base.

You will change your mind real quick !

It aslo will cut down on false arrest and prosecutions. Finally it would be better if arrest were solely based on DNA esp for death penalty cases.

[eDrifter1]

NWO is coming.

[automa741]

they are out to get us...chemtrails KILL....world non compliance!!

[makinjica]

This shit will be implemented globaly in all parts of globe.. They want One World Goverment & One Police and that kind controll (Biometric/chiping?) is the best way to controll the crowd-peoples-numbers in NWO DataBase.One word = NWO!

UN-Nato-Unesco are main institutitions that makes all this Real..

sorry for bad english and cheers from croatia.... :)

[starmanskye]

@kjbaran -- "Forced to fight in"??? God are YOU ever willfully ignorant: A bad faith decision to avoid becoming informed about something so as to avoid having to make undesirable decisions that such information might prompt. People do not want their faith in their paternalistic government shattered. EVERY conflict the US has instigated, provoked or fought-in the last 60 years has been illegal, unjustified, immoral, based on lies & opportunistic.