As Jon points out, we should be concerned about the U.S. House Republican’s proposal to mandate that Internet Service Providers retain data on users.
I wrote this before, but I think it is worth pointing out again: You can’t be in favor of small government and at the same time be in favor of Big Brother. There’s nothing worse you can do to empower government than to give it critical information it needs so that it can know everything about our lives. That information will always be abused, in one fashion or another. This isn’t some hysterical view of government, but a recognition, like our founder’s had, that a healthy distrust of government is required.
Law enforcement is always going to want more and more information, regardless of the privacy implications. Here in North Carolina, both parties have been guilty of pushing a police state just in the past year. We saw that with the “pill database” and the new system to collect DNA upon arrest.
There is a critical role for government in providing necessary law enforcement protection. However, there are limits on the means to achieve that end. We live in a free country, and as such, we must be willing to sacrifice “perfect safety,” if there is such thing, to secure that freedom we hope to enjoy.
