KEEPING INDIVIDUALS informed about the laws and rules that affect civil liberties has always been important. It’s even more important today as government builds vast infrastructures of mass surveillance.

In the past, the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference (CFP) has been a forum where techies, civil libertarians, business people, and people from governmental agencies meet and discuss (okay, sometimes vehemently discuss….) issues that relate to computers, freedom, and privacy. But this year was different: virtually no one from the U.S. government showed up. In many cases they didn’t even return phone calls to tell us why they wouldn’t send anyone to be on panels. Here’s how it played out at CFP2003.

What we heard and saw

Discussions on panels went on as usual, only in many cases there wasn’t a person on the panel to defend the U.S. government position. In some cases, people from non-governmental organizations such as the Heritage Foundation could speak to the issue at hand from the government’s perspective. But it just wasn’t the same as being able to ask a question of an official at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) about CAPPS II (the Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening program).

Disengagement by the government was particularly acute on the panels that discussed and debated provisions of CAPPS II, the not-yet-introduced PATRIOT II, and homeland security in general – yet, these were the very panels where we most needed to hear our government defend these programs.

Some speakers and sessions stood out for me. Canadian Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski commented that a lack of real privacy is a distinguishing characteristic of totalitarian societies – a sobering thought for all of us, as we think about CAPPS II and PATRIOT II.

On day two of CFP I went on a walking tour of a few blocks of New York City with the Surveillance Camera Players (SCP). As we walked, Bill Brown of (SCP) pointed out the numerous cameras that were everywhere. In many cases we couldn’t walk half a block without seeing a camera.

Just the act of pointing out the cameras was viewed as subversive. Along the way we were joined by a security guard along with his watchdog as well as a couple of undercover agents. Bill pointed out to us that occasionally the undercover officers greet him by name just to let him know that they are watching him. Bill also pointed out to us that if the main point of the cameras is deterrence, the cameras would be in plain view for all to see, but in most cases, the cameras we saw were well hidden, or placed high on buildings so that we could not see them unless we looked up. The point being that the cameras aren’t there for deterrence, but for surveillance. What this means

The repercussions from the surveillance systems that our government is putting into place today will be felt by every single person in the US. CAPPS II, a slightly smaller sibling of the currently defunded Total Information Awareness system would examine vast amounts of information about every single airline passenger before that passenger can get on a plane. We all want security at airports, but what about all of the innocent passengers who have been tagged as “suspicious” and now either can’t fly, or are forced to go through a more rigorous form of security – even though officials know that the passenger is innocent?

A direct example of unthinking, mass surveillance occurred right at the New Yorker hotel where CFP was held. It was quite creepy. At check-in, staff demanded that hotel patrons hand over a government photo-ID, which the staff then photocopied. Patrons were told that reservations would not be honored unless they allowed staff to photocopy their driver’s licenses. Various reasons were “for accounting purposes”, “for security reasons” and the ever popular, “it’s our policy”. Never mind that many driver’s license numbers are tied to a person’s social security number. In the name of “security” many patrons could now become victims of identity theft.

Many libraries are now posting warnings to their patrons that the PATRIOT Act now allows law enforcement to demand records of the books that are checked out, and which sites that are accessed via the Internet. This can all be done without probable cause or any reasonable suspicion that the patron is involved in criminal activity.

All in all, the picture for privacy and freedom was not a rosy one. Fortunately, there are still many things you can do.

What you can do:

• Discuss with your state representatives.

• Get involved – support efforts by the ACLU, EFF, PrivacyActivism, EPIC and others who are working on these issues. This doesn’t necessarily mean making financial donations, it can also mean writing letters or volunteering.

• Support your local libraries