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Big Brother Britain
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by Amy Judd | August 14, 2008 at 12:17 pm
711 views | 50 Recommendations | 25 comments
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Local authorities in the UK have now been given the power to access all the details of every citizen's personal text messages, e-mails, phone calls, and internet use.
These are under the new Home Office proposals. Ministers want it to be a mandatory measure for telephone and internet companies to keep details of this personal nature for at least 12 months.
They admitted, the Home Office that is, that for this to work the communications industry would have to have to store “a billion incidents of data exchange a day” and that data would be made to available to investigators right across Europe. The concept has been ushered in from the EU, and it is so extensive that it means the details of your text messages, phone calls, internet use, and even VOIP calls will be stored for a minimum of 12 months.
The authorities are saying it will help protect the UK from terror threats but many see it as a threat to their personal security and private lives.
It is already mandatory for telecommunications companies such as BT, Orange and O2 to keep records of all mobile and landline phone traffic. They also voluntarily store electronic internet data which under these new proposals will be come mandatory, no doubt so it can be put into the “super database” which they have indicated planning. This new database would make all of the data being mined by the telecommunications industry available to the police, and all other public bodies, so that they wouldn’t have to contact the company who gathered the data in order to get access to it.
For our NowPublic members in the UK and Europe, and anywhere else for that matter, what do you think about it?
'One Nation Under CCTV'?
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (25)
at 12:20 on August 14th, 2008
The idea that all of the collected info could be effectively parsed strikes me as silly. Ultimately the choke point is the set/sets of eyes watching/reading all this footage and trying to decide what's suspicious and what's not, which is pretty subjective, really.
at 12:24 on August 14th, 2008
amyjudd, I think it's terrifying! There is the old adage: 'if you're not doing anything wrong, there's nothing for you to fear'. But that's not the issue. I'm not doing anything wrong (and I have nothing to fear) but I do not need, want, deserve, or authorise continuous and unlimited intrusion into my life.
I just sent a naughty text message to my partner (I really did!) as is my right and my wish. I do not expect said text messae to be sitting on a database for half the Ministry of Defence to see. This is not what any of us signed up to when we elected our current government, and such measures are never opened to public referendum. For a reason!
So, yes, I'm not too happy about it!
at 12:26 on August 14th, 2008
For me, Jordan, it's not about the ease with which the information can be used; it's about the intrusion involved in collected such information in the first place. I'm pretty sure that the text message I mentioned below (as an example) will never been high up on a 'risk' database, but the fact that it could be, theoretically, is where I have problems.
at 12:38 on August 14th, 2008
Agreed. At the end of the day, it's a stranger listening in on your day-to-day life. That that stranger wears a uniform doesn't make a difference to me.
at 13:34 on August 14th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Telephone conversations have been listened into and letters opened for at least 20 years both legally and illegally and this is just an extension of this.
People are using emails and text messaging much more than letters and phone calls which has prompted them to shift to the new media.
Much of the information will be of little use but where terrorism or criminal activity are concerned this information is vital.
I would feel better in the knowledge that everyone including the Government were also monitored.
at 14:07 on August 14th, 2008
Terrorism and "national security" are always the reason for these privacy intrusions. It is quite ridiculous if you ask me. Soon we'll have tracking systems injected into our body for "security" reasons. Good stuff amy!
at 14:11 on August 14th, 2008
Yes, what would be the training for that?
at 14:12 on August 14th, 2008
Thanks for the flag!
at 14:13 on August 14th, 2008
Interesting contrasting view to generaldecay's opinion.
Thanks for the flag too!
at 14:13 on August 14th, 2008
Now that is a scary thought...
at 14:43 on August 14th, 2008
Wow. They are moving into an open surveillance state a la Nineteen Eighty-Four quite quickly in Britain. Will the people stand by and just let it happen? What will we do when they attempt to do the same here?
at 14:47 on August 14th, 2008
A lot of Britain already is like 1984 - not all of it though, just for the record! :)
Thanks for the flag!
at 14:58 on August 14th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. You know if it means I can take a subway, bus or walk down the street in relative safety without having been targeted by extremists,robbers, gangs etc, perhaps a small price to pay, since penalties in some cases amount to nothing, so not really a deterrent to criminals. If there was no terrorism in the world as the UK are experiencing, then perhaps all these safety precautions would not be necessary. Better to be safe and sound and than blown up and screaming. UK cops prided themselves on not being armed, times are a changing when criminals are armed as well as terrorists, hence why then now carry weapons, cause your laws are not protecting the citizens as they should be with a do the crime and do the time going by the wayside.
at 15:05 on August 14th, 2008
Who watches the watchers?
at 15:16 on August 14th, 2008
BBC NEWS | Politics | Who watches the watchers?
at 15:19 on August 14th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Resistance is futile ...
at 15:24 on August 14th, 2008
Thanks liamssoft.
at 15:25 on August 14th, 2008
Oh, scary. Good find.
at 20:52 on August 14th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Quite frankly I don't know what to think about this.
On the one hand it does creep me out that the government is requiring my personal information to be kept in files. It's not their place to have access to everything I've talked about in the last twelve months.
On the other hand, it's not like they're listening in to everything I say. I assume, and maybe this is a misguided assumption, but I assume that they will only go into your files if they suspect you of terrorism.
Taking this a couple of steps further - where will this all stop? Could this information theoretically be used as evidence against drug dealers, escort services, and/or organized crime of any kind?
Amy, to tell you the truth I just don't know if this is a good thing. If it is used solely against people who the government suspects are terrorists or supports terrorist activities in some way then I am for it.
Maybe we should put this in a little more perspective though because this sort of thing has been going on forever. Mail was intercepted by the US government during WWII (here) and there are examples of this in most countries I can think of offhand (USSR, France during the French Revolution, China, Europe now, America now, and there are probably others that I could find out about if I wanted to, but I'm a little tired now).
This isn't something to be taken lightly, that's for sure.
at 21:11 on August 14th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 01:45 on August 28th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Another look at Freedom...
http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/freedom-liberty-abused-ideal
at 02:33 on August 28th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 04:16 on August 28th, 2008
This is just the problem ...
Today we're doing nothing wrong - but tomorrow when they change the rules that all might change ...
Be advised - they can keep changing the rules until nearly everybody becomes a criminal, it's happened before !
at 04:37 on August 28th, 2008
For sure. the goalposts are moved to match the political agenda of the day.
at 02:49 on November 17th, 2008
This is yet another example of Big Brother Britain. I just wanted to draw your attention to a new blog that deals specifically with issues like this. Everyone is encouraged to produce unique losts on this topic or reproduce their onw posts if they feel that the readers will gain some value. It is a new blog, but gaining some excellent supporters, perhaps you or your readers would like to take a look?
http://bigbrotherbritain.wordpress.com/about/