Does it sound logical that anyone in the world should be able to type a string of numbers into a webpage and get the name of the person to whom the line belongs to? These services are commonly called reverse number lookup and promise to let you find the, often unlucky, owner of the line in exchange of a few humble dollars.
At first glance, it seems that there is real value to such a service. People who use the internet to sell or buy secondhand items, such as cars or home furniture, can use the service to verify the identity of the person they may be dealing with. I imagine anyone would be more than happy to spare a buck to save themselves from a scammer. Personally, I would never want to deal with a person who is not who s/he claims.
But like all technology, in the wrong hands, this one can also be used for bad. Research in economics of privacy already shows how easy access to different sources of information has made identity theft easy: The thieves use one piece of information to acquire another piece and, before long, they assume the identity of another person. There is nothing to suggest this technology cannot be used for this purpose. One can start with a set of phone numbers, find a list of names, and run them through the internet. It will not be long before the thief finds a suitable catch, a person wealthy enough to be worth the effort of the thief, and careless enough to leave his information on the web.
The menace of this technology can even go further. One can easily imagine a terrorist looking up information for influential people, or use this service to locate people in public office in local government to plot a attack or a hostage taking situation.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 changed many facets of day to day life. Most importantly, they caused a massive change in the perception of privacy among the general public. In the world of today, where terrorism is a real threat, it is not too far-fetched, or crazy, to imagine such a scenario.
All in all, I think the good aspects of this technology outweigh the bad. People are more conscious about sharing their information these days and, although, receiving a phone call from a possible tele-marketer. These bad uses of technology can be eliminated through educating the public or introducing laws to protect public privacy. These measures should be enough to counterbalance the activities of the few with bad deeds.