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All Eyes on You
by Eric J. Plosky, 03.13.03
Your parents want to know where you're going, who is going with you, and what time you're going to be home. And soon enough, they may not have to depend on you to supply them with this information — thanks to a little microchip that can track your every move. You can't cut class, you can't sneak off with your sig other, you can't say you're sleeping over at your friend's house when you're actually heading out to a concert past your curfew. Busted!
Sound like a sci-fi scenario in the far-off future? Guess again. Technology that tracks location is a lot more common than you might think — for better or worse.
Tracking Technology
Surveillance has already been part of our lives for years. Video cameras monitor public places such as airports, train stations, government buildings, and even city parks. If you run a red light, you might be photographed and sent a ticket. If your car has an electronic toll tag, you build up a tracking record every time you pay a toll. Your cell phone (especially if it's a newer model) may have a chip that allows its location to be pinpointed.
Tracking devices can be a lifesaver for people in trouble. Hikers and skiers afraid of getting lost can carry Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which use satellites to report an exact position. GPS navigation systems are beginning to appear in some cars. If you're in an emergency situation and you need assistance, it helps to know exactly where you are. New "personal homing beacons" are coming on the market to aid in outdoor rescues.
And the trend is extending to living things, too. Did Rover run out without his collar? If he's been electronically tagged, he can be "scanned" and sent back home to you when he's found.
Surveillance Supporters
So what's this about kids and microchips? Some parents are pushing to have their kids "chipped" — actually having microchips that track their location inserted into their bodies. Or parents can purchase a "tracking watch" that locks onto their child's wrist. Parental enthusiasm for "chipping" children is especially high in England where two girls disappeared and were found murdered last summer. After that, parents practically lined up to have their kids chipped. One mother said of her daughter, "We believe the microchip will go a long way to protecting her."
The number of missing children and teenagers — the FBI says there were 63,356 open cases as of last November 1 — means that interest in this technology is only growing.
The Privacy Parade
Tracking can definitely have its advantages, but what about the privacy issues? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says that except for specific, high-profile terrorist targets, "The impulse to blanket our public spaces and streets with video surveillance is a bad idea."
Groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warn that stepped-up surveillance could undermine our civil liberties and freedoms, particularly our privacy rights and our right to be left alone. "A person's location is a very important element in social control," says Lee Tien, an EFF staff attorney.
The Pentagon is looking to use location technologies as part of a national surveillance plan called "Total Information Awareness." This plan would also make use of electronic records — e-mails, bills, and travel information — for government tracking purposes. All of this, Tien says, could lead to a society in which privacy is forgotten and suspicion rules. |
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