Dell jumps on 9/11 paranoia bandwagon

In yet another example of post 9/11 paranoia, Dell Computer has cancelled one man’s laptop order based on the name of the company he works for - Weigand Combat Handguns Inc.

In yet another example of post 9/11 paranoia, Dell Computer has cancelled one man's laptop order based on the name of the company he works for - Weigand Combat Handguns Inc.

Jack Weigand ordered an Inspiron notebook from Dell earlier this month. After several days of waiting, Mr Weigand rang Dell to enquire about the status of his purchase. Upon talking to a Dell customer service representative, Weigand was told that Dell's export department had flagged the shipment as suspect due to the name of the company he worked for. The order was subsequently cancelled without notice.

According to Mr Weigand, Dell's reasoning for cancelling his order was that 'they were afraid I would use the computer for illegal purposes.' The flagging and subsequent cancellation was done by an order screening service installed in reaction to events on September 11 last year.

This is just the latest example of people and companies falling into extreme post-September 11 paranoia. If Dell's 'order screening service' is capable of cancelling someone's order based on the name of the company they work for, what other ludicrous decisions will it make based on unfounded suppositions? Furthermore, what other, similar systems are in use by organisations and governments around the world that could possibly make the same bad judgements with more serious consequences? Will people be denied entry to public places because they were born in a Muslim nation? Will anyone buying any IT related product be subjected to exhaustive background checks 'just in case'?

Thankfully, Australia is yet to be affected by the same extreme paranoia currently at work in the US. We have yet to pass reactionary, knee-jerk laws such as the Patriot Act, slipped in un-noticed during the panic that follows any major disaster. Hopefully we never will. However, we can't just sit back and hope that everything will be all right. The only way we can ensure our country doesn't bring in draconian, freedom limiting laws due to vocal minorities or widespread fear and paranoia, is by keeping a close eye on the government and making our thoughts and feelings known each time it attempts to pass bad or ill considered laws.

--Brad Webb