In light of the NoW scandal we have to wonder how safe we are from being spied upon. Every day the technology gets better and better, and anyone can buy it online. For example:

http://spyworld.com/
http://www.mscspytek.com/
http://www.4hiddenspycameras.com/

There are literally hundreds of websites advertising equipment for spying on others. What we see in online retail outlets is only the tip of the iceberg. Professionals such as law enforcement, intelligence agencies and private investigators have at their disposal even more sophisticated equipment.

What is more alarming is the electronic data trail that we all leave behind. For example:

- Medical and dental records: doctors record in computer systems every medical procedure, diagnostic procedure or treatment course that we take.
- Retail and service records: retailers and service providers record every product or service that we purchase.
- Credit and financial data: banks, financial insitutions and credit reproting agencies have detailed records of every cent we have borrowed, spend or used in some way. They know every financial detail about us, good or bad.
- Electronic mail: e-mail servers are routinely backed up and our messages are recorded and in many cases made available legally or illegally to others.
- Telephones: land and cellular telephone companies have records of every telephone call we make, including numbers, who owns the number, times of day, locations, etc. This also includes text messages, photographs, video or any other form of data sent through telephone systems.
- Any other form of electronic data that can be stored in a computer.

There are very few laws to protect individuals. At the present laws open the data systems to law enforcement and intelligence agencies in search for terrorists and criminals. However, there is nothing to stop governments from using all of these means of communication for curtailing individual freedom and imposing a totalitarian system.

The 9-11 tragedy was used to pass legislation that Americans would never even have dreamed of. The Patriot Act gives broad powers to the government, and there is no guarantee that another terrorist attack won't cause a panic that will move the government into an even more authoritarian direction.

At the same time, private companies own and operate most of the computer systems where all the electronic data is stored. What guarantee is there that those companies will not abuse all that data?

Passing laws to protect individuals might reassure the public a little, but in reality the law is only an abstract thing. People throw the law out of the window when politically or economically convenient. Murder is illegal, but that does not stop murderers from killing people. Likewise, abusing electronic data might be illegal, but that is no guarantee that somebody (whether in the government or a private company) will not abuse the data. NoW is a sign of that. All it takes is a change in the political climate and Big Brother will be looking at everything that we do electronically. It feels like we are sitting on a ticking time bomb. It is not a matter of whether the data will be abused, but rather a matter of when. In the meantime, we continue in our ignorant bliss, oblivious to the danger that this posses to individual freedom and our right to dissent.

Our politicians act all "outraged" when a scandal like the NoW affair happens. Yet we would be very naive to think that they were unaware of what was going on. Politicians in power are themselves playing this game, and now that NoW is caught they pretend to do something or to care.