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First-year student op-ed of the week:

» Massive public-private information database project threatens privacy, civil liberties

Jacob Anderson
Contributor

N: all conspiracies against
the public are hidden,

like those depicted in the
television shows that our
parents watched when they
were kids, like The X-Files,
and in old classic movies like
The Matrix Reloaded; some of
them are open and out there
to be observed by anyone who
cares to go out adventuring in
search of them.

I recently became aware
of a massive public-private
information-gathering project
that has apparently been
going on for many years. The

origins of this project are murky
: so that it might, in turn, be
: revealed to the public at large.

and not fully explained on
Wikipedia, so I cannot fully

explain them to you. What I can
: that I received covers only

: the city of Vancouver, but it
: contains information about
: tens of thousands of people.
: Imagine how this information

state, however, is this: I know,
through first-hand knowledge,
that private corporations have,
in collaboration with our
government, been allowed to

compile a database of extremely
: fall into the wrong hands:

: identity theft on a massive

: scale, the harvesting of massive
: amounts of data for targeted

: direct marketing operations—it :
: could facilitate the stalking

: and harassment of countless
: individuals.

: I have attempted to provide :
: an exact count of the number of :
: names in the database, but the
: mathematical power required

: to multiply thousands by

: thousands would have required
: me to make use of computing

: equipment and, given the

personal information on
many citizens and residents of
Canada. Private information
such as full names, contact
information, and the locations
of our homes have been
recorded, catalogued, and
made available without any
appropriate safeguards being
taken to protect our privacy.
This is not conjecture or wild
speculation: I have seen it with
my own eyes.

Last Tuesday, my mother
drove me home from band
practice. As is my usual habit,

: | went to enter the house

: through the front door. When

: I walked towards the door, I

: observed an unusual object: a

: large book wrapped in plastic.

: | cannot state with certainty

: why the book was left for me:

: there was no note or other

? accompanying information. I

: can only conclude that some

: brave soul, perhaps aware of

: my four tweets in support of

: Edward Snowden as well as my
: Social Studies project on the

: same subject, had decided that
: this was information that the

: public simply must have and

: therefore, based on my strong
: record of support for civil

: liberties, provided me with an

illicit copy of this information

The copy of this database

might be abused, were it to

: sensitivity of this disclosure, I

: felt it was not prudent to do so

: insofar as it is wholly possible

: that my own computers have

: been compromised and that the
: entry of such information into

: acomputer might inadvertently
: disclose my possession of this

: information to others and allow
: them to act against me.

Some will ask why I

: would reveal the existence

: of sucha treasure trove of

: sensitive information here;

: I simply feel that I have run

: out of other options. I have

: emailed the Prime Minister not
: once, but twice, demanding

: an explanation. He has chosen
: not to respond. I believe that

: only by shining daylight upon
: these shadowy operations can
: rogue corporations working in
: league with the government,

: suchas this so-called “White

: Pages” company, be brought

: back under control.

I recognize that I have

: placed myself in both legal and
: physical jeopardy; therefore

: I have obtained a Student

: MasterCard in order to travel

: abroad. While I was not able

: to afford to escape by plane, I

was able to obtain Greyhound

: tickets that will allow me to find
: refuge in “TX,” a suburb of Paris
: in France. I do this not because

[ hate my country, but rather
because I love it and freedom

: everywhere. It is my hope that

: you will join me in this effort

: and that, together, one day, end
: the menace posed to all of us

: by the aggressive efforts of the

: multi-nationals.

  
  
  
  
  
   
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

| i

 

 

 

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