The New Office of Homeland Security:

How Does This Affect You?

By Jill E. Vaile

Portion Reprinted from:HearSay Magazine, nwu, January, 2003.

The New Year is upon us and with it some new electronic-rights issues. These issues have the potential to affect all Americans-compliments of our own government.

War and terrorism notwithstanding, there are components of the Homeland Security Department that were rarely disclosed to the public, and present a calendar more aptly resembling "1984" than 2003.

DARPA and TIA: Not a New Sitcom! Familiarize yourself with these Two Acronyms!

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, which has jurisdiction over TIA.
TIA, the Total Awareness System, a little known "project," has been green-lighted by the recent passage of the Homeland Security Department legislation.

What Does This Mean?

EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, defines TIA as "an all-encompassing surveillance system" that allows for unlimited and total data collection relating to every U.S. Citizen."

In plain English, this means there is not any area of information protected from information gathering by TIA.

Tracking and integration of your "private" travel, financial, (including banking), medical, educational, and telephone records, along with a planned biometric identification system, are just some of the categories of information that TIA will scrutinize and collect on every U.S. citizen.

The scope and reach of this data collection extends a tad further than the previously promoted "necessary tool" for protecting citizens in our own land or the establishment of a "protective and anti-terrorist entity" for the American public.

Here are a few possible scenarios and how they affect "everyman/woman":

Your association with any group that could be labeled as critical in any way of government policies (i.e., certain nonprofit organizations or "watchdog agencies") could now place you in a very vulnerable position.
It is acknowledged that online communications (such as data or e-mail posts to groups and lists) are all tracked, traced and stored.
( All online communications are subject to this, not just some.)
Due to the highly subjective interpretation, of this data, TIA and other unamed monitors are provided with a ripe opportunity to garner any desired "outcome" they wish.
The Patriot Act, enacted post 9-11, has effectively silenced those who would have voiced concern over TIA. What is it worth to you? No longer is there a clear option to "speak your mind". Doing so has some very real consequences!
Unknown access to all of your personal information now predetermines your chances of specific job hiring, credit worthiness and more, based on the information available to others, most likely without your knowledge.

Where is the Proof?

In a recent "policy post" the CDT (Center for Democracy and Technology) revealed newly established procedures when it named more than 300 specific resources known to impact various privacy issues. A "how-to" of new procedures was clearly spelled out regarding the integration, collection and maintenance of electronic-information statistics.

Read a few samples from the CDT policy post:

Impact Assessments, based on a new law that requires all U.S. agencies to provide Impact Assessments, including Privacy Notices.
(Now you know why you've been getting those little pieces of paper in every bill, saying that Policies have changed!)
The creation of a position known as the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, has a 2003 budget of $45 million.
The creation of the Committee for Interagency Searches, will oversee and scrutinize all government branches for government information.
A study of the "Digital Divide" has been ordered, and will be conducted by the National Academy of Science.

Now that previously "private" data are no longer labeled as such, personal profiling of all citizens will be easy to attain.

FYI: There are a substantial number of links and stories freely obtainable at the CDT Web site. In fact, all CDT "posts" contain the following statement: "This document may be redistributed freely, in full, or linked to: http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_8.25.shtml"

Category links include:

#32: First Amendment and Freedom of Speech references
#145: Privacy-"the right to be let alone," (as proclaimed in 1890 by Supreme Court Justice Brandeis).

It is rather incongruous to consider the CDT's proclaiming First Amendment rights and privacy as issues integral to itself.

Our society's rush and demand for new and improved time and cost-saving measures, amd our universal embrace of all things electronic have created sn stmosphere that is ripe for the harvesting.

All of this information is in existence. The change is simply in the coordinating and collection of it all.

While the collective "we" may well be responsible for the existence of this same data, there remains a scenario few would have expected- that our own Government would take a position that the collection and coordination of our personal information, and it's clandestine use, is their right.

To make use of information in a protective manner is not the argument. The bigger question is, "At what point does the government cease using the EXCUSE of terrorists to justify the demolition of our rights to privacy as citizens?" Those very same rights supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution of this country?

No one would knowingly interfere with the security and protection of our citizens, unless it was their main agenda to subvert that safety. But the continuous passage of laws which undermine and reduce the rights of the citizens who love, respect and cherish this nation, who have given generations of lives in the protection of this land, must question the WHY of their sacrifices. If they have stood and given the ultimate in defense of this nation, was it not to guarantee freedom to speak and conduct themselves according to the laws of this land? If privacy is to be mocked, then on what basis do we stand and defend?

Where are all the checks and balances that prevented any one group or individual from riding roughshod over our hard fought and dearly protected rights? How can so many changes be made, with so little input, and/or knowledge of their existence, while the people who live and die for this country's freedoms are the very same whose privacy and rights are being exploited?

How this will all play out remains to be seen. Is this an overreaction to 9.11 events or an appropriate measure to protect the citizens of the United States? The across-the-board policy of collecting information on all citizens-information that is both personal and private can be interpreted as invasive and excessive. Archiving that information, and the control of that archive, could no doubt lead to the abuse that knowledge offers.

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