Thirty-Three States Contributed to the MATRIX 328
lexbaby writes "The Salt Lake Tribune has an article claiming that at least 33 states have released government and commercial records on residents to the controversial MATRIX (Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange) network instead of the originally claimed 13." Don't worry, there's plenty of RAM for all 50 and the territories too.
Re:list please! (Score:5, Informative)
CLICKY HERE [matrix-at.org]
http://www.matrix-at.org/states.htm
Here is the Wired article that was posted here a day or two ago, which has more info on which states are involved...
CLICKY HERE [wired.com] http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,62564,00. html?tw=wn_tophead_1
Catch-22! (Score:5, Informative)
If you can't access the data, how can you find the source!?
CAN THE PUBLIC REVIEW THE MATRIX PILOT PROJECT DATA CONCERNING THEMSELVES?
No. Members of the public cannot access individually identifiable information on themselves or others. Persons wishing to access data pertaining to themselves should communicate directly with the agency or entity that is the source of the data in question. For example, each participating state must provide a means for an individual to review and challenge the accuracy and completeness of his or her criminal history record, as authorized and required by 28 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 20.21(g).
You think thats bad... (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp [brbpub.com]
Free public records for all states and nationwide databases.
I know for sure that Colorado and Wisconsin have criminal court proceedings online, effectivly putting your police record out there for anyone who knows your name or even parts of your name.
It did come in handy for me lately, as I found out someone gave my name when they were arrested. Had this resource not be available, I may have never known. Now I have to get it off, and they don't make it easy.
-ft
Good thing Leavitt is gone (Score:5, Informative)
When he left for EPA his Lt. Gov, Walker took over and found out about this MATRIX stuff and told the public. I hope Walker or Matheson gets elected next time around.
Re:Avoiding trouble in the first place... (Score:4, Informative)
John Kerry (Score:2, Informative)
Remember the Florida election of 2000 ? (Score:5, Informative)
When is Joe Six pack going to wake up to the fact that in secret the government has conspired to create a dossier on every citzen in this country and this is who they hired to do it:
Hank Asher then creates the MATRIX as a state level network version of the TIA office. Essentially continuing the TIA office, but freeing it from congressional oversight and federal whistleblower protections. He admits smuggling millions of dollars worth of cocaine in 1981 and 1982. Coincidentally at the time when the Iran-Contra dealings were in full swing.
But this is only speculation. Could there be more of a link between illegal dealings between Hank Asher and the republican party? OF COURSE THERE IS!
In 1992, Asher founded Database Technologies, which later merged with ChoicePoint. In 1999, he founded Seisint Inc. by merging two companies. He is still on Seisint's board of directors, and continues to play an active role in the company.During the 2000 presidential election ChoicePoint, gave Florida officials a list with the names of 8,000 ex-felons to "scrub" from their list of voters. But it turns out none on the list were guilty of felonies, only misdemeanors.
So there we have it. We went from having a domestic spying agency run by a five time felon to having the same domestic spying program sans congressional oversight and whistle blower protections run by a convicted drug smuggler who has proven that he'll break the law to further the republican agenda.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/oh_republican
A Florida law enforcement data-sharing network is about to go national. In the name of counterterrorism, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are pouring millions of dollars into the system to expand it to local law enforcement agencies across the nation. It's called Matrix, which stands for Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange. According to the Washington Post, the computer network accesses information that has always been available to investigators but brings it together and enables police to access it with extraordinary speed. Civil liberties and privacy groups say the Matrix system dramatically increases the ability of local police to snoop on individuals.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/0
The Florida company that built the database was founded by the man behind ChoicePoint and Database Technologies. The companies administered the contract that stripped thousands of African Americans from the Florida voter roles before the 2000 election.
Although narrower in scope than John Poindexter's controversial Terrorist Global Information Awareness program, Matrix may serve a similar purpose because it provides unprecedented access to US residents regardless of their criminal background. And states are eager to participate in the new program. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to launch a pilot program in state law enforcement data-sharing among Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.
Umm... what? (Score:2, Informative)
Article Text here [officer.com]
New York and Wisconsin Opt Out of Anti-Crime Database
............
MARK JOHNSON
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York and Wisconsin have joined the list of states that have pulled out of an anti-crime database program that civil libertarians say endangers citizens' privacy rights.
Just five states now remain involved in Matrix out of more than a dozen that had signed up to share criminal, prison and vehicle information with one another and cross-reference the data with privately held databases.
Questions over federal funding and the waning potential for benefit to law enforcement ultimately prompted New York's withdrawal, said Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for the New York State Office of Public Security.
In a letter earlier this week, New York State Police Lt. Col. Steven Cumoletti noted that as more states withdraw, Matrix's usefulness diminishes.
The administrator of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, meanwhile, cited cost, privacy and potential abuses of such a large database.
"When you added it all up, there were more negatives than positives,'' said the administrator, Jim Warren. He said the state signed up for Matrix about a month ago, but withdrew this week without having put any money into it or trained anyone.
Known formally as Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, Matrix links government records with up to 20 billion records in databases held by Seisint Inc., a private company based in Boca Raton, Fla.
The Seisint records include details on property, boats and Internet domain names that people own, their address history, utility connections, bankruptcies, liens and business filings, according to an August report by the Georgia state Office of Homeland Security.
Officials with Seisint and the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The American Civil Liberties Union has complained that Matrix could be used by state and federal investigators to compile dossiers on people who have never been suspected of a crime. Seisint officials have said safeguards are built into the system to prevent such abuses.
"We're pleased New York has finally seen the light and opted out of this data-mining program that would allow the government to troll billions of private, personal records for information they have no business getting,'' said Donna Lieberman, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
New York started questioning Matrix when several other states dropped out because of privacy or cost concerns, Rasic said. Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia have all left or declined to join after actively considering it.
"It was going to end up costing a lot for something we already had,'' Tela Mange, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, said Thursday.
Matrix, short for the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, began in 2002 in Florida. Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania also remain participants in the program, which was helped by $12 million in initial funding from the federal government.
Julie Norris, spokeswoman for Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, said the state plans to stick with Matrix, considering it "a powerful investigation tool'' that uses information already available through public records.
"It allows for an intelligent search that is quick, fast and efficient,'' she said.
The Michigan State Police use Matrix on a limited basis and continue to support it, said spokeswoman Shanon Akans.
------------------
I swear, whenever I read about posts that infringe on privacy in this forum, all the dangerous 1984 references sound like more whining and justification based on more fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I've ceased to take any of it seriously.
Re:They're not messing around (Score:5, Informative)
A few years ago when renewing my drivers license in Nebraska I was told that I had a suspended license in the state of Florida. Hmmm I haven't been in Florida since Carter was President. I tried to fight the suspension but being a poor person (one that couldn't afford the $500 lawyer fee that was quoted) I initially threatened to turn myself in to the local authorities stating I had a warrant in the state of FL and at least get a "FREE" trip to Florida, I finally paid what was owed on the ticket and the extortion money^H^H^H^H^H reinstatement fee for the ticket only to find out that that particular person that had the outstanding warrant his physical description was no where near mine.... about 6 inches taller and he was a different color, along with having the DL number blacked out
and I ended up paying over $200 just to get a stupid license renewal here in Nebraska.
Makes you wonder if the tin-hat crowd is not on to something.
Re:list please! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Avoiding trouble in the first place... (Score:3, Informative)
Keep a record of everything you do. Every dollar you spend, every phone call you make, and every trip you take. Upon being asked if you are a terrorist, make relevant portions of this record avaliable.
Orwellian society exists due to lies and secrecy. Truth, fact, and honesty are the only proof against it.
Re:The concern of potential abuse of MATRIX (Score:3, Informative)
I had to go through a review & challenge when being hired to my current job (there was an item on my criminal record that was supposed to have been expunged). I had to send in a form (easily obtainable) and sign it, with my fingerprints on it (I wasn't happy about that, but realize it's a necessity). Two weeks later, I got a reply and sent in some papers, all was taken care of.
Total cost to me? About 4 hours. Yeah, it shouldn't have happened in the first place, but I did not have to "wade through [a] monolithic ball of red tape."
So it has nothing to do with idealism, of which I am certainly a proponent, I speak from personal experience on this one.