Author Asks, Will Big Brother Track Your Every Move?

EMedia Wire
Sep. 17, 2005

Hundreds of thousands of people went missing in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Weeks later, government officials, family members, friends, and a shocked and grief-stricken world still have not counted the dead or located the displaced and scattered survivors, whoever and wherever they are. Is there a better way to keep track?

Lawmakers and technology researchers have been gearing up for years with high-tech devices to enable us to keep track of our citizens under all circumstances. Centralized databases electronically tied to computerized “dog tags” may be the wave of the future. Despite all of their convenient advantages, there are disturbing potential consequences for these “dog tags” that may outweigh the benefits.

Author Greg M. Sarwa devoted much research to this controversial technology, and the results of his study are now available in the form of a suspenseful thriller entitled The Cattle (Ampol Publishing Co. 2005). In Sarwa’s novel, things go dangerously wrong when the government enacts the “Real ID Act of 2005.”

Citizens in the novel suspect that the implanted electronic devices will not only identify them, but may also be used to track, terrorize, and kill them. “My intention was to create a fiction story with as much authenticity as I could acquire,” explains the author, “but I never dreamed it would evolve into a tale so distressingly possible so soon.”

In real life, the United States is about to deploy a new system of national identification, as mandated by the “Federal Real ID Act.” Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin is already electronically “tagged” for digital access to his medical records. For years automobiles have been outfitted with satellite tracking devices, to locate cars in an emergency or when one is stolen. Florida has a new law requiring a “unique personal identifier” to recognize individuals in court cases, and John Roberts, the nominee for the position of Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, argued years ago for a revised national identification system.

According to experts who have studied his writings, Judge Roberts seems to think that the freedom-loving American people have nothing to worry about when it comes to Big Brother eavesdropping via high-tech ID systems. Companies like Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and defense contractor Northrop Grumman are certainly not hesitant about the idea. They all have technologies under development to help the government silently track the identities of Americans. Financial analysts predict that the market for computerized identity systems will more than double to $10.7 billion by 2007, and big business is lobbying for laws that will ensure sales of their new products.

But the public doesn’t seem to mind. Ask patrons at discos like Barcelona’s Baja Beach Club, and they will tell you that electronic “fingerprinting” systems are the coolest new accessory of the hipster crowd. Elite clientele at clubs like Baja already have special computer chips implanted under the surface of their skin, so they never have to tell the bartender to “put it on my tab.” Instead, they simply scan their implanted arms across a special device that reads the computer chip and identifies them, eliminating the need to carry money or membership cards. Patrons say this provides the ultimate sense of freedom, in an age when “traveling light” is a major status symbol.

Others, however, see this trend as a creepy infringement upon personal privacy and safety. “It is as Orwellian as you can imagine and should be frightening,” says Professor Oscar Gandy, an expert on technology and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Yes, government agencies promise to keep identity files confidential, but within the past year there have been massive thefts of personal information from private companies and even from US military databases that hold confidential records for active duty military personnel.

Critics say The Cattle “is a book not to be missed,” and that its premise is not so far-fetched. The story may turn out to be more truth than fiction. Meanwhile, as you curl up in bed with your favorite book, strangers are busy reading the intimate details of your personal life, whether you know it – or approve of it - or not. And that is no exaggeration.