Big Data, Big Research, Hardball University Politics, the Baptism of the Dead, and the Utah Autism Whistleblower
By Judith Pinborough-Zimmerman and Mark Blaxill
Like it or not. Legal or not. Government collects, maintains, and even shares and sells massive amounts of your personal data. This data collection starts before you are born and continues after you die. Government knows your name(s), social security number, age, birthdate, if and whom you married, and when. Were you ever divorced? Do you have children? What are your unchanging physical characteristics, like your height and eye color? Government likely has several photos at different ages, and possibly even your DNA and fingerprints. Government knows how much you weighed at birth and how much you weighed when you got your first driver’s license. They know what kind of student you were, if you received special education services, and if you attended public schools, what your grade point average was. They certainly know how much money you reported making, and how you earned it, every time you filed a tax return. This list could go on and on including the use of your