Originally Posted by
Joe Bikerider
Same thing here in the Bay Area. But the pass still gets read for reasons other than tolls. For example we have some signs indicating how many minutes to some location. Like "22 minutes to SFO". (Airport). They do that by reading the tags as cars go along and calculating the time. The claim is that this data is just kept anonymously but there is at least one instance I know of where in a divorce case the wife got the data and used it to prove the hubby was going somewhere else besides work. VavaVoom!
Yes, but they can't read a pass that's at home sitting n a drawer. However they can read license plates.
Rant follows: don't read if you don't want to.
As we move deeper into the digital era, we need to take the time to write the rules of engagement.
I, for one, don't object to things like license plate readers, partly because there can be some benefit, but mainly because I know it's pointless to try to stop progress. However, if we agree to let agencies "spy" on us, we should get an agreement that the data will only be used by the intended purpose, and where retention isn't necessary will be destroyed within a set time frame.
Unless we write rules of engagement related to this kind of thing, the 1st amendment will be reduced to a relic of past times.
All in all, we probably need a constitutional amendment defining the bounds of privacy for the digital age, which lays a foundation, and guides Congress in writing ground rules for what's collected, how and by who it's used, and how long it's kept.
However, since most people seem to think it's OK, and those who don't agree don't speak with as loud a voice as those interests who make a business of it, I don't expect anything to change, except for the worse.