Big Brother gets a little bigger

[Aliantha]

I don't have a problem with the government taking my DNA if I ever get arrested. For one thing, if I'm a law abiding citizen, what do I have to worry about? For another, if I somehow become a criminal then the state has every right to try and stop me from offending...and I suppose I have the right to try and avoid capture.

Also, surely it can only help fight crime if the police have more information. So someone gets picked up on a misdemeanor, then they find they've got DNA from the same person or fingerprints from a crimescene that match? Why is it so bad that the police should have access to this type of technology?

I'm all for it. It's about time too imo.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

For one thing, if I'm a law abiding citizen, what do I have to worry about?

My concern is that, when something that you're doing, today, that is legal, is made illegal, tomorrow, they already have the framework in place to track you, and you agreed with implementing it. You don't ever get to tear down that process when it dawns on you, later on, that it wasn't a good idea. The politicians of tomorrow can use the tools that the politicians of today put in place, for whatever purpose they see fit at that time. We can't control that from the present. I think that criminalization of harmless acts is part of the natural tendency to try to control a massive, ever-growing population--not through some nefarious scheme, but as a natural, gradual drift towards replacing chaos and disorder with strict, inflexible systems.

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Flint

The politicians of tomorrow can use the tools that the politicians of today put in place, for whatever purpose they see fit at that time. We can't control that from the present. I think that criminalization of harmless acts is part of the natural tendency to try to control a massive, ever-growing population--not through some nefarious scheme, but as a natural, gradual drift towards replacing chaos and disorder with strict, inflexible systems.

Thought that stood repeating.

The DNA database worries me. Far more than CCTV, or people looking into my emails or tracking my mobile phone use (not saying I necessarily approve of all those things, but I don't get a cold chill from them). DNA is about as fundamental and personal as it gets. And I worry at the attitude that seems to be forming within our society that somehow DNA evidence is to be considered absolute and incontrovertable proof. Mainly though, I dont much like the idea of my government owning such deeply personal information about me.