The September 11th attack
Terror attacks change attitudes about high-tech snooping
By John Yaukey
Gannett News Service
Technology hasn't changed much since Sept. 11. But attitudes about it certainly have — especially when it comes to using high-tech snooping for protection.
The Justice Department has proposed a sweeping array of new surveillance options, including the ability to tap an individual's full range of electronic communications with unprecedented authority and ease. And the public, by and large, seems to be OK with the idea.
Illustration by Janet Loehrke • Gannett News Service
Almost 90 percent of respondents to a Harris Poll in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks favored face-recognition technology to scan for suspected terrorists at airports and other locations, while 86 percent want closer monitoring of banking and credit card transactions. More than half support government monitoring of Internet and e-mail activity.
The fact is, a lot of this surveillance is already being done, or will be soon.
And it's not just law enforcement that's interested in what people are doing and where they're going.
Employers are prying into workers' e-mail and Web surfing. Companies are tracking your movements and spending habits online with greater precision than ever before. Soon your cell phone will track your location via satellite in the event of an emergency — a step some privacy advocates say could lead to "location taps."
"Just about any way you communicate electronically leaves some sort of a trail that anyone with the right technology can pick up on now," said David Farber, a professor of telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania. "It's a matter of what's permissible and what's not."
All this could be cause for comfort, concern — or both, as Californian Jim Opfer discovered on a recent vacation.
"I was trying to buy some wine in Napa and my credit card wouldn't swipe," he recounted. "When I called the credit company they told me they were monitoring my expenditures and there were some charges that looked suspicious. Initially, I was a bit angry that someone was trailing me like that. But by the time I hung up, I'll admit I was OK with it. In this environment it was comforting to know someone was looking out for my interests."
Regardless of where you come down, you should at least know who might be looking over your shoulder and how they're doing it.
