MySpace is part of "The System"

This is a short rant about privacy.

I am not going to defend sex offenders.

What I AM going to say is this:

There is a federal database of identification. It is populated with anyone who has ever been booked or had to apply for a license of some sort. (Drivers, holders of Gun permits, pyrotechnicians, Notary Publics, etc..)

Fans of CSI will know this as "The System".

The federal government is actively leveraging all centralized social networking sites to augment the contents of "The System." That means that every time you post your friend's picture on Facebook you are registering them with law enforcement.

If you do not believe me, have a look at what happened with MySpace in February.

Again - I am NOT defending Sex offenders. But you need to consider this carefully. This is an edge case. It should not be used as a foot-in-the-door or grease for the slippery slope.

I noticed a similar exception case that was used by border patrol agents claiming the legal right to view the contents of someone's hard drive when entering the country - based on child pornography charges.

My point is this - once the Authorities have any reason to violate your privacy - they will inevitably behave as though they have the Right to do so as a blanket policy.

But then again - what reasonable right to privacy can you claim - if you maintain a MySpace or FaceBook account?