The Nanny state, apparently deeply concerned that it is leaving us any privacy at all, is now turning it’s attention to the creation of a newsuper database to record when we make phone calls, or send emails and who to, oh and all the web sites we visit.
Of course this is purely ‘for our own good’, to protect us all from terrorism. That catchall ‘bogeyman’ excuse of the Authoritarian state, ‘protecting the citizen from the terrorist and criminal’. The same citizen that the State will not permit to defend themselves against criminals with the frequently used threat of prosecution hanging over them if they do.
A Home Office spokesman disingenuously attempted to claim that: "Changes to the way we communicate, due particularly to the internet revolution, will increasingly undermine our current capabilities to obtain communications data - essential for counter-terrorism and the investigation of crime - and use it to protect the public.
Now as far as I know it is still possible for the authorities to tap phone conversations and intercept post, within the law. They do not currently have a database of all letters sent and to whom as far as I am aware. Nor have they ever had one.
So when the spokes person claimed:"Losing the ability to use this data would have very serious consequences for law enforcement and intelligence gathering in the UK." it did not follow logically at all.
The simple fact is that the state already has access to this and more, such as emails and web useage if they suspect someone. It is going too far to monitor us all.
And we all know the State can be trusted to look after this information and not loose it on a bus, or sell it, or something.
And we all know just how much the promise of the State is worth when they say they will only use legislation only for the purpose it was framed.
...Or maybe we could ask Islandic banks about how anti terrorism legislation was recently limbered up ready to be used to freeze Islandic funds in the UK. Or how other legislation was used to silence and eject hecklers from a Labour party conference.
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Someone will form something like a nation wide network where we can all email each other at random with emails laced with key words such as bomb, downing street, fertiliser etc. and then the data base will become entirely useless, we could do the same with calls to anonymous mobiles purchased abroad using favoured word combinations such as Jacqui Smith. No doubt the hackers and other insiders will sabotage the system as well.
Now you may well have a point there Lorenzo and it cheers me to think it.
My main point is that it should not be necessary, that such legislation has no real need to exist other than to oppress.
If there is any shred of justification the disbenefits certainly far outweigh any supposed benefits for the citizen. For a state that cares little for rights and liberties it aids control.
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