Patriotic Information Systems

摘要

In Patriotic Information Systems editors Todd Loendorf and David Garson, both from North Carolina State University, present ten papers exploring the intersection of the US Patriot Act and civil liberties. Although citizens forfeit some freedom for society's protection in times of crisis, privacy and information access rights are jeopardised in a post-9/11 world. Divided into two sections (Freedom of Information and Access; Security, Technology and Democracy), the book questions the survival of egalitarian values in a surveillance society. Garson's introductory chapter touches on democratic and technological issues that are more thoroughly addressed in later essays and calls for a comprehensive civil remedies statue, noting that "the scales have tipped so heavily in favor of surveillance and security and so much against privacy and freedom, that proposals for reform seem almost Utopian". Loendorf's concluding chapter, "Out of Control? The Real ID Act of 2005", opposes the implementation of a national ID card because of financial, security and privacy concerns. Other papers discuss internet surveillance, radio frequency technology, Freedom of Information Act restrictions, the Patriot Act's impact on libraries, and the dismantling of information systems as a consequence of perceived security threats.