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In the first article of this series (Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, December/January 2002) we considered information and information network theory as the primary offensive war tools in the war against terrorism. In the second part (in this issue of the Bulletin), we addressed the critical question whether American intelligence and law enforcement, with their information collection, exploitation and use responsibilities, were positioned to protect the public. We answered that question in part by highlighting a number of deficiencies in the law and its execution. Here we continue that answer by surveying the newly enacted information-related laws - the USA Patriot Act of 2001 - and their impact on our civil liberties.
In a subsequent article we will continue with consideration of new security processes - from the use of military tribunals to new frontiers for citizen surveillance. In doing so, we will assess at every juncture the balance between security and freedom and the interplay with technology. As we shall see, many of the criticisms raised to date take the form of an emotional antipathy toward any intrusion, especially those based on technology. I submit, however, that properly and legally managed technology may actually enhance both our privacy and our cherished concept of equality before the law. Free of bias, it may not subject us to personal embarrassment or opprobrium in public - as may a human agent of the state. Do we prefer a high technology scan of our person or the physical pat-down? If we understand these benefits, it then becomes somewhat clearer that it is not just the collection of information that should be of concern, rather its maintenance, dissemination and collation with other public and commercial information - hence uses for other purposes - that should be of paramount importance.
New Information-Related Laws
The terrorism of September 11 posed in graphic terms the question of what legal structure is required to further our security - balanced against, of course, the impact upon our civil liberties and privacy rights. The unarguable fact in this electronic age is that very little happens in isolation and without electronic evidence. But acquiring that informational record can be difficult as information technology advances more quickly than the law. Likewise, effectively...