Gift Ideas6 mins ago
You only have something to fear if you have done something wrong
10 Answers
Ministers are to consider plans for a database of electronic information holding details of every phone call and e-mail sent in the UK, it has emerged.
The plans, reported in the Times, are at an early stage and may be included in the draft Communications Bill later this year, the Home Office confirmed.
A Home Office spokesman said the data was a "crucial tool" for protecting national security and preventing crime.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7409593.stm
There have been many people who have not been concerned about items like ID cards, calling those of us have stated that it is a slippery slope, exaggerators.
For those of you who used the argument of 'nothing wrong, nothing to fear', are you prepared to support this idea of a database containing all your emails and phone calls?
The plans, reported in the Times, are at an early stage and may be included in the draft Communications Bill later this year, the Home Office confirmed.
A Home Office spokesman said the data was a "crucial tool" for protecting national security and preventing crime.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7409593.stm
There have been many people who have not been concerned about items like ID cards, calling those of us have stated that it is a slippery slope, exaggerators.
For those of you who used the argument of 'nothing wrong, nothing to fear', are you prepared to support this idea of a database containing all your emails and phone calls?
Answers
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No I would not support this at all. We should all be allowed privacy to carry on our lives as we wish and to have conversations with people, either via email or telephone.
I cannot beleive that the people that they would be looking for are the greater percentage of the population and therefore the majority of us would feel that we could not express ourselves as we would wish.
It is not a crucial tool. We are becoming a nanny society where the government feel that it is crucial to watch what all of us do and all of us say. Of course, some emails, telephone calls could, if they were that desperate, be taken out of context and they could have bagged themselves another innocent scape goat.
The whole idea fills me with dread and wondering whether I should emigrate with my daughter to avoid such a culture.
I cannot beleive that the people that they would be looking for are the greater percentage of the population and therefore the majority of us would feel that we could not express ourselves as we would wish.
It is not a crucial tool. We are becoming a nanny society where the government feel that it is crucial to watch what all of us do and all of us say. Of course, some emails, telephone calls could, if they were that desperate, be taken out of context and they could have bagged themselves another innocent scape goat.
The whole idea fills me with dread and wondering whether I should emigrate with my daughter to avoid such a culture.
I think the Government and Security Services (with the help of the US) already record every electronic communication (email, phone, internet use), however, the retrieval of the information is quite difficult at the moment. To log and database the information will speed things up in the event of an enquiry.
After 911, the Americans were able to retrieve electronic information from the 19 dead terrorists and unravel slightly, the network which supported them.
After 911, the Americans were able to retrieve electronic information from the 19 dead terrorists and unravel slightly, the network which supported them.
Don't forget too that if you know what you're about it's pretty easy to send e-mails that are encrypted to a level that would take months or years to crack even on the largest supercomputers.
Are they going to monitor all the web forums like this one and IRC channels too?
I'm afraid that working in the computer security arena I don't have a lot of faith that our legislators know a SQL injection from a hole in the ground.
Are they going to monitor all the web forums like this one and IRC channels too?
I'm afraid that working in the computer security arena I don't have a lot of faith that our legislators know a SQL injection from a hole in the ground.
The British civil service can't even transfer a couple of million child benefit records from one place to another without writing them to a CD and sticking it in the post to get lost.
It's hard to imagine how they'll cope with the amount of data storage and processing that would be required to make this possible.
It's hard to imagine how they'll cope with the amount of data storage and processing that would be required to make this possible.
Would this measure go through parliament? I'm unsure.
If it does, I don't think this measure will pass. True, parliament does normally follow the government, but I honestly don't think they'll stand for this (they successfully stopped Blair increasing the internment without trial period, for example). It's also unpopular.
As for if it doesn't... I still think they'll drop it. The fact is that the government says a lot. It's always coming up with a crapload of plans that never get implemented. I can't see this going anywhere.
Having said that, the fact that the government is thinking about this is very, very frightening. As is the fact that they are basing their argument on little or no evidence. I just hope I'm right. I really do.
If it does, I don't think this measure will pass. True, parliament does normally follow the government, but I honestly don't think they'll stand for this (they successfully stopped Blair increasing the internment without trial period, for example). It's also unpopular.
As for if it doesn't... I still think they'll drop it. The fact is that the government says a lot. It's always coming up with a crapload of plans that never get implemented. I can't see this going anywhere.
Having said that, the fact that the government is thinking about this is very, very frightening. As is the fact that they are basing their argument on little or no evidence. I just hope I'm right. I really do.
It gets worse............
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/gov ernment-to-examine-everyone%92s-stools-2008052 0965/
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/gov ernment-to-examine-everyone%92s-stools-2008052 0965/
I don't personally have any worries about this, but I think it needs scrutiny, but I am not against the idea that communications can be monitored.
It would appear that there is a plan to consider update legislation to accommodate changes in technology and that if communications were needed to be monitored then they could be. (legally). With the desire for government to be transparent and all actions visible, we now get to know about plans, in the past it happened but we didn't know about it. I believe that there has probably always been illegal taps of phones and interception of mail, but to be honest, who is going to be interested in spending time on most people, it will only be those who are a threat to the government (some of those threats maybe lawfully concerned citizens who just happen to be vocal and critical, others may be unpleasant terrorists).
It would appear that there is a plan to consider update legislation to accommodate changes in technology and that if communications were needed to be monitored then they could be. (legally). With the desire for government to be transparent and all actions visible, we now get to know about plans, in the past it happened but we didn't know about it. I believe that there has probably always been illegal taps of phones and interception of mail, but to be honest, who is going to be interested in spending time on most people, it will only be those who are a threat to the government (some of those threats maybe lawfully concerned citizens who just happen to be vocal and critical, others may be unpleasant terrorists).
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