As a British resident, I know that my rights to privacy are already being eroded by the many ways the government now spy on us all. Under the pretence of looking after us, and protecting us from the dangers all around, we have a CCTV camera on every corner, and means of communication being scanned and recorded. And it could be about to get a lot worse.

There are proposals for a new super-database which would log every single phone call, SMS text message, and email sent in the UK. The database means that internet service providers and telecoms companies would have to hand over records of every communication sent and received.

Records of phone calls and texts are already kept for up to 12 months in order to comply with European Union anti-terrorism directives. But the new proposals - which are still at the discussion stage between the Home Office and the industries who would be charged with keeping, and then handing over the records - go even further than that.

First of all, Internet use would also be subject to scrutiny, with all emails, websites visited, and VoIP calls stored alongside texts and phone calls. These would all then be stored in what is being described as a super-database for 12 months, which the police, and other authorities could then access via permission from the courts.

This is especially worrying given the British Government’s track record on keeping stored records safe. Last year saw thousands of child benefit records go missing, in a mistake which saw people’s personal information disappear in to the unknown. If this were to happen with the new database, the consequences could be terrible.

There are objections to this becoming reality, with Web User reporting that the UK’s Information Commissioner has called for a full public debate on the issue, as it is “a step too far for the British way of life”. Richard Thomas continued:

Do we really want the police, security services and other organs of the state to have access to more and more aspects of our private lives?

The simple answer to that is no, but the British Government, as well as the authorities in other countries around the world, have used the recent spate of terrorism, and threats to ordinary citizens lives, to bring in a whole new layer of surveillance. The problem is that this effort to protect our lives is massively inflicting on our personal freedoms, and civil liberties.

I, for one, hope these changes to the Communication Bill never get passed in to law. Otherwise it’ll be yet another encroachment on our rights to privacy.

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 8:57 pm under Opinion.  Print This Post

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