Would you prefer this to being patted down? A scanner the government is testing for airport screening reveals much more than meets the eye to be comfortable for most passengers. The agency hopes to modify the machines with an electronic fig leaf - programming that fuzzes out sensitive body parts or distorts the body so it does not appear so, well, graphic.
posted on Jun 26, 2003 - View this thread

This article is about new border crossing security measures that are supposedly in the works. Cross the U.S. border in a few years, and a hidden camera may zero in on you from 150 metres away, able to recognize you by the shape of your face, perhaps by the telltale markings of your eyeball or even in the way you walk past the border guard. In milliseconds, a supercomputer would sift through a massive "data warehouse," able to dip into your life: Credit-card purchases, travel patterns, health and banking records would all be scanned. Your old telephone conversations -- in any language -- would be instantly available, along with e-mails that you sent years ago. Perhaps they'll even be able to read your MetaFilter posts.
posted on Nov 25, 2002 - View this thread

The FBI uses Equifax subsidiary ChoicePoint to gather dossiers on, well, everybody. No surprise, but many people know how inaccurate these reports can be (see the link). Now they're being used by the FBI? The scene in Brazil where the guy gets SWAT-rushed in his house because of a spelling error comes to mind.
posted on May 12, 2001 - View this thread