Privacy is Obsolete

Via Americablog, I learn that anyone that wants to can obtain a record of the telephone calls made to and from any telephone in the country, together with dates, time and length of the call. It only costs $110 to get a basic list. The FBI, Congress, and many others in government have known about this breach of privacy for some time, but no one has done much to stop it. Here's part of what the Chicago Sun Times has to say about it:

The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone -- for a price.

Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts.

Criminals can use such records to expose a government informant who regularly calls a law enforcement official.

Suspicious spouses can see if their husband or wife is calling a certain someone a bit too often. And employers can check whether a worker is regularly calling a psychologist -- or a competing company.

As John Avarosis, at Americablog, puts it, wouldn't it be fun to get a record of all the calls to and from Karl Rove's phone? Maybe if someone did, that would put a quick stop to it.