Privacy Alert

Privacy is a subject that just won't leave the public stage. Today's technology - to say nothing of tomorrow's - can probe so deeply into personal data, compiling huge storehouses of information, that a question always lingers: Who's keeping tabs on whom, and for what purpose?

Much of the data - credit records, for instance - may be used innocently, even beneficially. But the possibility of misuse warrants vigilance.

So our thanks to privacy watchdogs, like the Electronic Privacy Information Center, who scrutinize what corporations and governments might have up their e-sleeves. The center recently filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning Microsoft's new Windows XP operating system.

Bundled with the system will be a program called Passport that stores personal data from users, such as passwords or credit-card numbers, on Microsoft servers. The stored data will allow users to rapidly access a variety of services on the Web. The company says only data that users want stored will be stored.

Privacy watchdogs question just how secure all this information will be in Microsoft's hands. The company has hardly been immune to hackers. It's good the FTC is being nudged to take a look at this new product.

Another thanks for needed nudging goes to House majority leader Dick Armey, who has urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to reexamine the FBI's use of software to screen e-mail traffic. With Mr. Armey's support, the House just passed a measure that will require the FBI to document its use of the software (which was formerly known as "Carnivore").

The FBI may indeed have a legitimate need to peer through e-mail in search of criminal activity. But it should be subject to clear legal oversight, as it is with phone-tapping.

Individuals should be their own first line of defense for privacy, by being careful about what they divulge online. But activists and public officials alert to any undermining of this basic value are indispensable.