The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has a feature they offer called Informed Delivery (ID). It's free to residential customers. I signed up for it. Most every day in which mail is delivered - around 7AM local time for me - you receive an email containing black & white scanned images of the paper mail you can expect to receive at the specified street address in the next few days. Below is an example image of some junk mail (with some editing on my part) from this morning's email.
The USPS has to scan all paper mail. That's the only scalable way to sort and route it. They have to scan it whether I sign up for ID or not. Considering the volume of mail, the variations in address formats, and the support for even hand written envelopes, it's a remarkable technological achievement.
But now I wonder: who else can get this ID email for my address? Can law enforcement request it? Does it require a subpoena or a search warrant? Or is it considered public information, like the stuff in your trash bin waiting for pick up at your curb? Do the laws restricting domestic surveillance prevent the CIA or NSA from receiving it? What about the FBI or the DHS? Who else might have access to it? Can it be used to construct a vast network of implied communication, much as intelligence organizations do today with social media accounts?
Maybe this is how conspiracy theories get started.
No comments:
Post a Comment