FBI database infringes upon privacy

It starts with wiretapping and e-mail surveillance, airport no-fly lists and “sneak and peak”… It starts with wiretapping and e-mail surveillance, airport no-fly lists and “sneak and peak” searches. Then, the next thing you know, the government will be producing a massive computer database chock full of information on people’s physical characteristics – from fingerprints to iris scans – tracking our every move.

No, this isn’t a scene pulled out of George Orwell’s “1984,” but it very well could be.

Currently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is planning on doing just that. According to CNN, the FBI will soon announce the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help build this database that will store a variety of biometric information.

Kimberly Del Greco, the FBI’s Biometric Services section chief, told CNN that the database is crucial “to protect the borders to keep the terrorists out, protect our citizens, our neighbors, our children so they can have good jobs, and have a safe country to live in.”

But in today’s fight against terrorism, it is clear that privacy and civil liberties are far from important.

The mentality at work here is that if Americans have nothing to hide, then they have nothing to worry about. But, in fact, Americans have everything to fear.

These seemingly minor infringements upon privacy might seem insignificant in the beginning, but they can quickly get out of hand.

Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Technology and Liberty Project, told CNN, “It’s the beginning of the surveillance society where movements, and eventually all your activities will be tracked and noted and correlated.”

Steinhardt went on to say that a plan like this one could lead to many problems, just as mistakes have been made with the airport no-fly lists – preventing many innocent people from flying.

Similarly, the government has made mistakes in its other Patriot Act-related actions, from wiretapping to e-mail surveillance. “There are real consequences to people,” said Steinhardt.

It is also unsettling that the FBI seems to be embarking on this plan without Congressional oversight, without any outcries from our elected officials.

This database is disturbing not only because it would practically make “Big Brother” a central force in the lives of Americans, but also because its success depends largely on the government’s ability to play on our fear – which is exactly what it’s doing.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing manifestations of the War on Terror is the success the government has already had in exploiting our post-9/11 need to feel safe. This database takes it one dangerous step further, exchanging privacy for the impression of safety.