The Electronic Privacy Information Center has sent a letter to the Senate today regarding a HUD plan to set up an extensive surveillance and tracking system of the nation's homeless. While helping the homeless is a noble cause, and I've made plenty of donations myself to a local shelter, government surveillance for the purposes of keeping tabs doesn't fit the noble cause criteria. This HUD plan, while probably dreamed up with the best of intentions is just plain a bad idea. There has to be a better way that doesn't involve one more far-reaching government database of private information. Hasn't there been enough of that over the last two years?
The letter (disclosure alert) which I signed is available online here:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/poverty/hmisltr9.9.03.html
EPIC's Analysis of the plan:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/poverty/hmisfactsheet.pdf (PDF)
I'll be posting a copy in my Advocacy and Comment Letters section later this week.