Kudos to reporter Mal Leary of Capitol News Service for uncovering a query from a finance company to the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection asking advice about placing GPS devices in financed vehicles. The good news is that Maine state legislators from both sides of the aisle -- Democrat Elizabeth Schneider and Republican Chris Rector -- agree with the ACLU of MAINE that this practice violates our fundamental right to privacy. You can read the full story in the Bangor Daily News at:
GPS Seen As Threat to Privacy
or listen to it at MPBN here.
Senator Elizabeth Schneider said in the story, "It's 1984 in the year 2010." In George Orwell's novel, 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, is under government surveillance at all times. Government surveillance is particularly chilling because the government has the power to deprive you of your liberty -- to put you in jail. Sometimes the private companies collaborate actively with the government. Private surveillance of people's movements for commercial reasons is on the rise. The ACLU Pizza feature reflects the new 1984 -- a not so distant future where the private sector deprives us of our liberty. "1984 in the year 2010" indeed.
GPS Seen As Threat to Privacy
or listen to it at MPBN here.
Senator Elizabeth Schneider said in the story, "It's 1984 in the year 2010." In George Orwell's novel, 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, is under government surveillance at all times. Government surveillance is particularly chilling because the government has the power to deprive you of your liberty -- to put you in jail. Sometimes the private companies collaborate actively with the government. Private surveillance of people's movements for commercial reasons is on the rise. The ACLU Pizza feature reflects the new 1984 -- a not so distant future where the private sector deprives us of our liberty. "1984 in the year 2010" indeed.
