Couldn't resist a further posting on TIPS, to note that there is Supreme Court concurring opinion support for the concept that massive databases operated by governments may raise constitutional issues. (Sorry about the format, this is a cut&paste from a PowerPoint.) On-line Privacy and Technology Databases and information protection Recording of names/addresses of patients prescribed schedule II drugs in NY state database, kept at secure site with penalties for unauthorized disclosure, does not constitute "invasion of any right or liberty protected by the fourteenth amendment." Whalen v. Roe, 429 US 589 (1977) On-line Privacy and Technology "What is . . . troubling about this scheme . . . is the central computer storage of the data . . . [t]he constitution puts limits not only on the type of information the state may gather, but also on the means it may use to gather it. The central storage and easy accessibility of computerized data vastly increases the potential for abuse of that information, and I am not prepared to say that future developments will not demonstrate the necessity of some curb on such technology." Brennan, J., concurring in Whalen v. Roe, supra From: John R. Christiansen Preston | Gates | Ellis LLP 701 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104 *Direct: 206.613.7118 - *Cell: 206.799.9388 * johnc@private Reader Beware: Internet e-mail is inherently insecure. Unencrypted e-mail may be accessible to unauthorized viewers, e-mail content may have been modified or corrupted, and e-mail headers or signatures may incorrectly identify the sender. If you wish to confirm the contents of this message or identity of the sender, or wish to arrange for more secure communication please contact me using a communications channel other than a "reply" to this e-mail. Thank you.
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