general privacy tip

On Salons site there’s an article called “Big Brother is watching what you read”. It seems privacy rights groups are getting, rightfully, bent out of shape about law enforcement agencies getting court orders to force book stores to turn over the reading lists of certain suspects.

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2...res/index.html


A personal view:

Are both law enforcement agencies and privacy rights groups missing the big picture here.

75 – 80% of all book purchases are done using credit cards.

Book stores generally use the international standard book number (ISDN) as their inventory control numbers, which then appear on your sales receipt and on your credit card statement.

If privacy is an issue with you, make sure you are using cash to buy your reading material, especially if it’s of a sensitive nature. It can be used as evidence against you.

Anything you buy with a credit card can be traced. Therefore, anything you buy online can be traced. I agree with privacy groups most of the time, but it seems like this is just a little overboard.

Or you could just read the books at the store. :D

I walk in (regular customer) to a Starbucks which is adjoined to a Barnes and Noble. Grab my coffee walk into the store, read for an hour so, and walk out. And no, no one has said anything to me, in the last 5 years of doing that. :)

I know, i have no life.