What price, peace of mind?

Cisco's Track and Trace system (TTS), to be launched later this year, will enable Singaporeans to trace almost everything — from loved ones to company property. It is the ultimate tool for employers.

Its other service, Safeview, sells "peace of mind" to parents who worry about leaving their children alone at home with their maids, or storeowners who want to check on what the sales staff are doing with just a flip of a 3G mobile phone.

And come Sept 1, a new Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) network set up by the Singapore Land Authority will mean users can track anything or anyone to within half-a-centimetre accuracy.

But all this comes at a price. Just when and where do we cross the privacy line?

Respect for privacy is perhaps the human race's last bastion in the preservation of human dignity. It is one thing to use a tracking device to trace a missing passenger to improve an airline's punctuality, but it is quite another thing to pry into what he purchases at a shop.