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  From: Camden Hutchison <crh2014@columbia.edu>
  To  : <CPC@emoglen.law.columbia.edu>
  Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 09:15:05 -0500

private versus government data collection

The impression I am getting from reading Robert O’Harrow, Jr.’s book
is that new data collection technologies raise two distinct social
issues.  One is that private businesses now have easy access to
detailed personal information about us.  The other is that the
federal government increasingly also has access to detailed
personal information about us.

I am curious as to which of these two issues other students feel is
the core problem we should be addressing in the class.  My own
feeling is that government use of our personal information (at
least when it is being used for national security purposes) is far
more worrisome than private use of that information.  Like Eben
said in class, the worst that marketers can do is try to convince
us to go to Disneyworld.  The government can send men with guns to
our homes.

-Camden

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