Loss of Privacy

If you’ve ever wanted to know just what is out there in the numerous databases, The Consumerist has a detailed list so that you can perform a complete background check on yourself.

Now you can know what Big Brother knows about you and get access to the same dirt everyone from your boss, landlord, insurance agent, to your favorite casino has on you. Here is a comprehenisve list of websites and phone numbers for most of the “specialty” consumer reports, like your employment, rental, and check writing history. Be sure to check them out and correct any errors, before a crisis hits.

Unfortunately, many of the places on the list are also not free.

When looking at the list that The Consumerist has compiled, it’s a little scary and nerve-wrecking to know that ChoicePoint is on that list. They were caught selling information to criminal organizations in the past, which doesn’t leave me thinking my data is very secure.

LexisNexus won’t let you opt-out unless you are lucky enough to be a politician, work in law enforcement, have filed an identity theft crime report or have a restraining order on file somewhere. Those of us that are not luck cannot stop them from spying on us.

Having a database of prescription drug purchase history also seems like some sort of privacy violation as well. Ingenix is part of UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealth Group owns UnitedHealthcare, the second-largest insurer in the nation. The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is also very scary.

It is also likely that many of these companies buy and sell their information amongst one another. There is also far more detail about you in these databases than you could ever dream of and there’s no way to opt out and very difficult to protect your own information.

From ABCNews:

Web users are becoming increasinly aware that companies are secretly gathering and selling the information they post on social sites like Facebook and Twitter. But now, banks may also be judging them based on their social network profile.

For the first time, banks can look pretty deeply into your private life by looking at your Facebook or other social media page and they may even consider your network of friends. The question is, “Will banks use your online persona to decide whether to give you credit?”

From LiveLeak.com

Wanna fly in the USA? Here’s the latest hoop to jump through. Yes, there’s a ‘professional’ that can see all your gadgetry.

That part I don’t personally mind, but just where is it gonna stop? This is incremental erosion of privacy and freedom, all in the name of the government protecting you.

You can get your very own doormat at Target for $18.99.

If you’re caught driving while drunk in Montgomery County, Texas, your name is going to be publicly listed on twitter. County Vehicular Crimes Prosecutor Warren Diepraam decided that this is the best way to keep people from driving drunk during the holiday season.

The Houston-area county will start publishing names on Twitter during holiday weekends such as the Christmas holidays, Fourth of July and Memorial Day, which are thought of as times when a lot of people drive while intoxicated.

Many worry about the privacy implications of a prosecutor so willing to name and shame people who have been charged, but not convicted yet.

A “person who’s been arrested is still innocent unless proven guilty,” said Houston defense attorney Paul Kennedy in a blog posting. “My question is should the DA dismiss a case against a motorist or should a motorist be acquitted by a jury of his peers, will Mr. Diepraam offer a public apology on Twitter as well?”

Just “because facts are publicly known and made available by the media, doesn’t mean the prosecutor has to actively publicize these facts,” wrote Venkat Balasubramani, a lawyer and Internet law blogger.

Mr. Diepraam, however, believes in anonymity through obscurity and isn’t being deterred.

“We’re not putting information in the public that’s unavailable,” he said. “In our area, we’ve got a population of around 6 million people and I sincerely doubt that the fact that I’ve put someone’s name on a Twitter page is going to affect their right to a fair trial.”

Names of those arrested for DWI will be posted on District Attorney Brett Ligon’s Twitter page.

The court of public opinion is far worse than an actual court with an actual decision of guilt or innocence. Once a person is found not guilty, is the DA going to publicly issue an apology and provide some sort of compensation concerning the perceived losses of being wrongfully accused?

Regardless of what a person thinks of a drunk driver, placing a person charged with a crime in the same group as those guilty of the crime is also reprehensible. This plan has not been thought out and the prosecutors will think twice once the lawsuits start rolling in.