Are They Watching You?

You aren't paranoid if somebody really is always watching you. So drivers in the San Francisco Bay Area will soon have an excuse if they find themselves buried in nervous tics and blackout shades. A $37 million upgrade to the region's electronic toll system will provide real-time info on congestion and traffic. But in theory, the same technology could track a car as it sets off radio-controlled sensors along the roadway. Transit officials note that the radio data is encrypted and stripped of unique identifying elements so that individual users are rendered invisible to the system. Yet the only way the system gets paid is by matching the sensors' unique serial numbers to toll bridges and roads. As a result, the pieces are in place to follow each car's movements. It would be a sad indeed if privacy-conscious drivers stayed away from such a technology, which has the potential to price road use rationally and to reduce congestion and pollution. For that reason, at least, it should be clear that strong safeguards against the abuse of personal data aren't a luxury. They are a vital part of making a free society work.