ChoicePoint, Behind the Black Lacquer Curtain

Who is ChoicePoint?

Simply put, the nation’s largest collector and parser of data about private citizens.

From GovExec:

“…It’s illegal for a government agency to collect most of the data ChoicePoint maintains… Thus an unusual alliance has grown between government, whose appetite for information about potential security risks has risen, and a company whose acumen in assembling personal information has made it the supplier of choice for many federal agencies.

“Mary Boris never pictured herself as a potential serial arsonist. But ChoicePoint did.”

“Press investigations found numerous flaws with the data. For example, the online journal Salon reported that a voter named Christine got tagged as a felon because a “Christopher” with the same last name had a conviction.”

“It is the anonymous person,” CEO Derek Smith [pictured], writes, “or small group of people, who represent the greatest risks – economic, physical or emotional – facing us today.”

Really? We could of sworn it was something else…

Read more. (Thanks to mrscolex and Brownlee!)