Free Republic

Six months after giving birth to a cluster of nebulous Sustainable Development Goals that aim to dramatically change the economic, social and environmental course of the planet, the United Nations is working on a drastic renovation of global data gathering to measure progress against its sweeping international agenda.

California's high-tech firms make the world's most popular smartphones, social networks and search engines, but there's one asset they're struggling to build: trust. The vast majority of Californians surveyed in a statewide poll are worried about the data collected by Internet and smartphone companies, and most said they distrust even firms known for their ardent fans and tens of millions of daily users. Many of those surveyed in the latest USC Dornsife/Times poll also said they were wary of firms collecting personal information without their knowledge and concerned that personal data could become public or be harvested to sell them...

It’s making news again...and who knows? Maybe people are starting to listen. I’m talking about the grand Pentagon plan to gather every bit of information available on every man, woman and tricycle motor living in America to store in some giant government computer. I want you to hear the way Major Garrett on Fox News Channel described this Pentagon Total Information Awareness program last night’s newscast. I’ll quote Major Garret’s story exactly … and if doesn’t send your pucker factor up a few notches, there is no help for you. “If the Pentagon has its way some day the government...