On-Star: Knows where you've been.

Alex · 12-07-2007, 07:24 AM

That is the lesson of history, yes. But you haven't really demonstrated that any personal freedoms are dying in this regard.

Except for very narrow exclusions the traces and trails we leave behind when interacting with the world outside ourselves have always been fair game to criminal investigation (the exclusions are broader for civil investigation).

Bank records have always been discoverable, we now just route more of our financial lives directly through banks than we did 50 years ago before credit and debit cards. I don't have to use plastic and leave that trail but the convenience is worth the exposure, in my opinion.

The government has always been able to example hotel registration records, those records are just now easier to access with the majority of hotels being part of major conglomerations keeping central databases. I don't have to stay in them, if I want my lodgings to be more opaque to prying eyes I can stay at independently owned B&Bs, but I hate teddy bears on my bed.

I really don't see any personal freedom dying here. The activities involved are not really any less private than they ever were, the record keeping is just more organized than they used to be.

12-07-2007, 07:24 AM	#36
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	That is the lesson of history, yes. But you haven't really demonstrated that any personal freedoms are dying in this regard. Except for very narrow exclusions the traces and trails we leave behind when interacting with the world outside ourselves have always been fair game to criminal investigation (the exclusions are broader for civil investigation). Bank records have always been discoverable, we now just route more of our financial lives directly through banks than we did 50 years ago before credit and debit cards. I don't have to use plastic and leave that trail but the convenience is worth the exposure, in my opinion. The government has always been able to example hotel registration records, those records are just now easier to access with the majority of hotels being part of major conglomerations keeping central databases. I don't have to stay in them, if I want my lodgings to be more opaque to prying eyes I can stay at independently owned B&Bs, but I hate teddy bears on my bed. I really don't see any personal freedom dying here. The activities involved are not really any less private than they ever were, the record keeping is just more organized than they used to be.
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