Privacy under Attack
...ators to find out such thing as social security number, date of birth, and place of residence by credit agencies. By the time search was over investigators also revealed credit card numbers, bank accounts, residential addresses amount of vehicles and property owned, and even a material status of Maas’s friend. This however is not everything. Investigators could also find out about his airline travel, hotels and restaurants he preferred, his phone records, salary, ownership, any alcohol or drug addiction, and many other information. It would not be so bad, however, of only legimate private investigators, which uses their knowledge strictly to locate people, were able to get this information. But where are also a number of companies, which ready to expose any privet data to anyone for a curtain fee. The head of such agency called Advances Research, Michel Martin, defending his operations sad: “in finding deadbeat dads, getting key evidence in child-custody cases, locating hidden assets in court-ordered judgments, why pay high attorney fees when we can do the job a lot quicker, a lot better and a lot cheaper?”(607). It seems like a good idea, but on the other hand how would you feel if your privacy was invented. According to P.I. Magazine, there are about 60,000 licensed privet eyes operating in the U.S. Some states like Colorado, Alabama, Mississippi, Idaho and South Dakota- don’t require licenses at all (607). Another threat to the privacy of Americans is coming from government. After the attacks of September 11, government enforced such security measure, which violates the right of Americans to privacy. Along with those methods used by privet investigators, government agents allowed to use even more information. With a court order, law enforcement officers now can view e-mail, listen to voice mail, watch the surveillance videotapes and do many other things in order to get the information. For example Attorney General John Ashcroft proposed that government should have the authority to tap into suspect’s telephone conversations regardless of what phone he was using at the moment (610). Americans were welling to sacrifice some of their privacy under a threat of terrorist attack in the past, but what about now? For example, in 1995 after Oklahoma City bombing, Los Angeles Times asked people if they want to give up some privacy in exchange for security. Back than 49 percent of them sad yeas, in 1997 that figure had dropped to 29 percent (609). The question raises; how much of the private information is government should be allowed to use. Barry Sternward, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union say: “We’re not saying that law enforcement should not be able to gain access to that information, what we arguing is that information action is content and that law enforcement should meet a higher standard to rove their need for it” (610). Besides that it is still unclear if these methods are effective. For example before the attacks of September 11, only very few terrorists come to the attention of the CIA. So how privet our life should be? The author of “The real Privacy Wars Are Just Over The Horizon”, E...