Surrendering privacy for survival

Americans at the lower end of the economic ladder suffer from an ever-growing privacy divide, impacting more than just their personal dignity and autonomy.

Low-income communities have historically been been monitored by government and their privacy has been routinely invaded. In Colonial America, most towns had an “overseer of the poor” who tracked poor people and either chased them out of town or auctioned off their labor. Current public benefits programs ask applicants extremely detailed and personal questions and sometimes mandate home visits, drug tests, fingerprinting, and collection of biometric information.

Full article: Another tax on the poor: Surrendering privacy for survival