Dear Kyle Shaw,
I loved your big brother editorial about the CANPASS Air program (“Looking forward,” April 13). Our march towards 1984 is well on its way and few people seem frightened by that. Or maybe they are but are afraid to say.
But what about page 7? Don’t you think The Coast Market Survey by Thinkwell Research—can we get a more Orwellian name?—has some creepy parallels? Sure, full names and addresses aren’t solicited, only email addresses. But the promises on page 7 are just like the promises you get when you ask federal officials what will happen to your private information. I know it is important to collect reader data for advertising and distribution purposes, but the motive and privacy issues aren’t far removed from the one behind CANPASS. In both cases, the “customer” is promised a reward (convenience or membership in the “I’m OK” club, or a crack at some travel vouchers) for the transfer of private data that is no longer private or under control.
By Benjie Nycum
This article appears in Apr 20-26, 2006.