Monday, December 04, 2006

Yes - I have a morbid fear of Big Brother

...and thanks to Somnambulist - it just got much worse. Check out a view of the future when we are all using a National ID Number.


*** Update ****

Somnambulist is no more - it was up yesterday and gone today.

4 comments:

helensotiriadis said...

doesn't the social security number serve as an ID number?

wikipedia says this:

Contrary to popular belief, there is no law requiring a natural born US Citizen to apply for a Social Security number to live or work in the United States [citation needed]. Although some people do not have an SSN assigned to them, it is becoming ever increasingly difficult to engage in legitimate financial activities without one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_number

Lexcen said...

Somnambulist has deleted blog.
As for privacy, the Australian government has inter-linked the databases of Social Security, taxation and foreign affairs(passports), and road traffic (driving licenses). Medical records are next. Should I be worried?

Mojoey said...

toomanytribles - not really. It is not secure, there is too much fraud, and it is excessively easy to get one. Plus, there are laws that prevent its use in open publications. Like in California - it cannot be on any document open to the public.

Mojoey said...

Lex - I guess it depends. Does the government make your tax record available to road traffic? If so, you are on the path to strangers knowing too much about your private life.