Re: Ordering pizza
There was a time when it was actually against the law to use a social security number for anything other than tax and social security related issues. Agencies other than the IRS and SS Admin couldn't even ask for a SSN. The first breach of this very sensible rule that I am aware of, was by state motor vehicle departments. If my memory serves me correctly, they started putting social security numbers on drivers licenses in the early 80s. Not long after, the law was changed and it became legal for businesses to ask for a SSN. The catch was (and still is) that the consumer didn't have to give it, but the business could then refuse the good or service.
So, what's the big deal? It is simply this - we have allowed business interests to drive legislation that, while it serves their interests, it is not in the best interest of the individual citizen and consumer. Allowing people to collect a piece of information about someone that becomes a universal identification source invites all of the abuses and problems that we have seen in society since this has been done. Obviously, identity theft is the biggest problem and even state DMVs have recognized this. Most (if not all) don't put a SSN on a drivers license any more for exactly this reason.
My local utility company does not need to run my credit to provide electrical service to my house - they collect a deposit to protect themselves and they are required to provide service to anyone who puts up such a deposit and pays their bill. Yet, they demand my full social security number and, while I haven't researched the matter, I think that they are probably in violation of federal law in doing so, because I can't choose not to give it too them. This is true because I have no other choices in providers for electrical service.
Banks and credit institutions don't need a SSN either. They use the numbers because it makes life easy for them. While the government does pressure banks to collect a SSN these days for homeland security reasons, even that argument has been diluted lately with the allowance of banks to open accounts for illegal aliens, who are required to provide no information other than an ID issued in their home country.
Medical information is another problem. Any Human Resources professional will tell you that the rules set forth in both the federal HIPAA law and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are very strict. For example, if a business has any personal medical information, it can not be kept with other personnel records - there have to be separate files for each employee and those files can not even be stored in the same place as the rest of the info. Inspite of this, the use of a SSN to identify patients has made it very easy for people to gather information that is supposed to be private.
Another problem that I find to be the most disturbing of all, is the trend in the last few years for SSNs to be improperly released by failure to keep hackers out of databases and other problems. Those of us who are veterans remember the case a couple of years ago of a federal employee who stored tens of thousands of records on his laptop, which was stolen from his home. I was one of the folks who was affected. As it turns out, it is not believed that the info was actually found by the thief, but the incident could have caused immense problems. Add to this, all of the cases of the hackers getting into the databases of banks, large chain stores, credit agencies, etc., and there is a huge problem. Simply put, because SSNs are over used and have become a universal identification number, all a person with bad intent needs to do to cause huge problems for someone, is to get their social security number.
The pizza mpeg is a little bit more amusing than scary precisely because it seems to be so far fetched. But, is it? It probably wouldn't surprise anyone to know that collection of information on that level could be very easily done with today's computer systems and connectivity. What I don't think the average person gets, however, is the way in which "too much" happens. Its not an overnight thing - you don't go from acceptable collection and dissemination of personal information one day, to unacceptable levels the next. What we face is a slow creep towards an "anything goes" mentality and the line between OK and not OK is fuzzy, so its hard to decide just where it is.
I like the pizza mpeg because it invites constructive debate. I don't know exactly where the line in the sand in regard to personal information should be any more than anyone else does. What I do hope though, is that we start taking this issue a little more seriously as citizens.
