Those Nosy Computers

The potential threat that computers pose to privacy--and ultimately to freedom itself--has been fretted about as long as there have been computers, and Congress addressed this issue in the Privacy Act of 1974. Since then, however, the development of new technologies for manipulating computerized records and the tremendous increase in the number and extent of electronic data bases have eroded the protections that Congress sought to erect, according to a study by the congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

So far, the infringement on privacy that computers make possible has been used for socially commendable purposes, such as computer matching to detect welfare and pension cheats and income-tax evaders. In the last five years, the study found, the number of federal computer matching programs has tripled. About 2 billion records were involved.

There has also been an increase in the verification of data submitted to federal agencies to weed out ineligible people before they receive benefits. Doing this involves linking data bases, which is easily done over telephone lines and is facilitated by the de facto adoption of Social Security numbers as the basis for federal record-keeping.

Although the 1974 act assigns responsibility to the Office of Management and Budget to oversee these activities, the congressional study found that the agency has shirked this job. As a result, nobody is keeping tabs on what is going on.

The potential for unauthorized use and for improper disclosure of this information is enormous. This is no longer just a theoretical problem. The means now exist for amassing, scrutinizing and analyzing comprehensive dossiers on virtually everyone. And, for the most part, there is no way for people to know that such information about them is being compiled, or even that they are under suspicion.

To be sure, the basic idea of an ordered society is in tension with the basic idea of freedom. We all give up a certain amount of freedom in the interest of order, which we also cherish. But computerized data bases greatly strengthen the government’s hand in this balance, and this change has occurred and continues to occur without much systematic thought.

Congress needs to reconsider this issue and enact additional controls on the collection, maintenance and use of electronic information. The study suggests that Congress might establish a Data Protection Board or Privacy Commission to oversee these activities, to serve as an ombudsman for citizen complaints and to propose specific measures such as limiting the use of microcomputers to access electronic data bases.

As it always does, the future has now arrived. The creation of a national data bank is at hand. Knowing this, Congress can and should take steps both to protect privacy and to prevent abuse by the government.