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Privacy has been called "the civil rights issue of the information age."

We are scanning...Americans enjoy unlimited benefits from new technologies in a wired world. But those wires send information in two directions, and the access to our personal data has never been more open for abuse. It's not the just the Internet that erodes our privacy. In dozens, possibly hundreds, of every-day activities, you leave a trail of who you are. As technology brings us closer together, the fragments of information about you are becoming much easier to piece together, revealing the most intimate details of your life.
Documents

The Right To Be Left Alone
When the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress have taken privacy into consideration, it has usually lost out to other interests.

The Price of Privacy
Americans have been rewarded for giving up their personal privacy. In a society where the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few, a more-secure and safer America has emerged.

Privacy the European Way
The European Union's "Privacy Directive" provides a model for how the United States might protect the online privacy of Americans.

Desktop Monitors
Many employers say existing laws are forcing them to monitor the activities of their employees.

Medical Records: An Open File
Medical records may be the most private of personal data. That's why so many people want yours.

Your National ID Number
When the Federal government started issuing Social Security cards five decades ago, some people worried the Social Security number would evolve into an all-purpose, national identification system. They were right.

Identity Theft
It's remarkably easy for someone to steal your identity, and it's difficult to get it back. It's a growing crime that law-enforcement agencies are unwilling or unprepared to stop it.

The Information Trade
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Funding for this series is made possible by a generous grant from The McKnight Foundation.