Tracking devices required for hassle-free travel?

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2003 07:29:55 -0700
From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat org>
Subject: For IP: Tracking devices required for hassle-free travel?
X-Sender: brett@localhost (Unverified)
To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox com

Dave:

I'm in Manhattan this morning, where -- due to the Federal government's 
extremely vague claims of increased terrorist risk -- the police are out in 
force during the morning commute. They're diverting traffic from some 
normal commuter routes (such as the upper deck of the Queensboro Bridge) 
and are requiring vehicles to slow down at checkpoints along others (such 
as the approach to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel). We've seen such checkpoints 
at Denver International Airport in the past, and have observed that they 
appear to have little effect other than slowing traffic and inconveniencing 
travelers. What they could possibly expect to be able to detect, during a 
second's glance at a moving vehicle, is unclear.

What's particularly disturbing about the measures we saw today, however, is 
that authorities appeared to be pulling over, and singling out for more 
thorough inspection, vehicles which were not equipped with New York's 
electronic "E-Z Pass" -- an electronic device which allows vehicle owners 
to be charged automatically for tolls and parking.

Your Interesting People list has, in the past, featured articles describing 
the increasingly widespread use of E-Z Pass records to track unfaithful 
spouses, employees, etc. We've seen examples of this sort of invasive 
"mission creep" before -- in particular, in the increasingly widespread use 
of the Social Security number for identification purposes of all kinds. But 
this is something new: It appears that now, when the Federal Government 
declares an "orange" terror alert, an electronic tracking device has become 
a requirement for hassle-free travel.

One can only wonder if this is the start of an era in which one is 
detained, harassed, or otherwise branded as a suspected terrorist if at any 
time one pays via anonymous cash or is unwilling to have his or her 
movements continually traced and recorded.

--Brett Glass


[Just like the lack of a frequent flyer number will get you looked at hard 
at airports djf]

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