INCREASINGLY PEOPLE are providing vast amounts of personal information voluntarily and unwittingly, says privacy expert and York political science professor Reg Whitaker. Every time you use a credit card or log on to e-mail, it is recorded. Groceries run through a bar code can be used to create a meticulous report on personal consumption patterns. Whitaker stresses that all these "bits" of information can be matched together to create a detailed profile of an individual.

Whitaker outlines the perils and pitfalls of today's technology in his latest book, The End of Privacy: How Total Surveillance is Becoming A Reality.

While most information gathering is used for relatively benign purposes such as providing better services, there are more ominous implications. The accumulated data can be used to create risk calculations about people who might be a credit, employment or even a health risk. "What I find really scary is the potential [for misuse] when information technologies come together with mapping of the genetic code," says Whitaker. "As we are able to amass more and more information about genetic predispositions, there is an increasing possibility of people being excluded from birth as a risk based on their genetic makeup."

Whitaker says the new technologies are two-sided, making us both vulnerable and empowered. But it is up to individuals to learn how to protect their privacy. Whitaker offers one simple suggestion to thwart the information collectors: don't use credit cards that track your spending habits.

Spying illustration: Celia Calle

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