Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Privatising Big Brother
The Telegraph reports on yesterday's Government announcement that it was pressing ahead with privately-held "Big Brother" databases which opposition leaders said amount to "state-spying" and a form of "covert surveillance" on the public:
All telecoms companies and internet service providers will be required by law to keep a record of every customer's personal communications, showing who they are contacting, when, where and which websites they are visiting.
Despite widespread opposition over Britain's growing surveillance society, 653 public bodies will be given access to the confidential information, including police, local councils, the Financial Services Authority, the Ambulance Service, fire authorities and even prison governors.
They will not require the permission of a judge or a magistrate to access the information, but simply the authorisation of a senior police officer or the equivalent of a deputy head of department at a local authority.
The decision to press ahead has come despite and admission by the Home Office that only a third of respondents to its six-month consultation on the issue supported its proposals, with 50 per cent fearing that the scheme lacked sufficient safeguards to protect the highly personal data from abuse.
Furthermore the communications providers themselves have questioned the cost of the scheme and whether it is even technically feasible.
The paper tells us that the latest figures on the use of the RIPA legislation by public bodies, show that state bodies including town halls made 519,260 requests last year - one every minute - to spy on the phone records and email accounts of members of the public.
They say that the number of requests has risen by 44 per cent in two years to a rate of 1,422 new cases every day, leading to claims of an abuse of using the powers for trivial matters such as littering and dog fouling.
The decision may have been delayed but the Big Brother state is going ahead anyway no matter it seems what we may think.
All telecoms companies and internet service providers will be required by law to keep a record of every customer's personal communications, showing who they are contacting, when, where and which websites they are visiting.
Despite widespread opposition over Britain's growing surveillance society, 653 public bodies will be given access to the confidential information, including police, local councils, the Financial Services Authority, the Ambulance Service, fire authorities and even prison governors.
They will not require the permission of a judge or a magistrate to access the information, but simply the authorisation of a senior police officer or the equivalent of a deputy head of department at a local authority.
The decision to press ahead has come despite and admission by the Home Office that only a third of respondents to its six-month consultation on the issue supported its proposals, with 50 per cent fearing that the scheme lacked sufficient safeguards to protect the highly personal data from abuse.
Furthermore the communications providers themselves have questioned the cost of the scheme and whether it is even technically feasible.
The paper tells us that the latest figures on the use of the RIPA legislation by public bodies, show that state bodies including town halls made 519,260 requests last year - one every minute - to spy on the phone records and email accounts of members of the public.
They say that the number of requests has risen by 44 per cent in two years to a rate of 1,422 new cases every day, leading to claims of an abuse of using the powers for trivial matters such as littering and dog fouling.
The decision may have been delayed but the Big Brother state is going ahead anyway no matter it seems what we may think.
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The problem it looks to me we have a New labour with a leader who is more interested in killing the Labour party, what next no elections in may because the country needs him.
God after 40 odd years of voting for labour parties labour council and Labour Assemblies I now know I wasted my time .
I will without doubt be voting for anyone and anything to rid our selves of this piss poor government.
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God after 40 odd years of voting for labour parties labour council and Labour Assemblies I now know I wasted my time .
I will without doubt be voting for anyone and anything to rid our selves of this piss poor government.
# posted by 
: 8:37 PM
: 8:37 PM<< Home
