THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Granting police and security agencies immediate access to email, web and phone communications data allows them to paint a detailed portrait of a life.
The Coalition government's proposals to extend surveillance powers would vastly expand the amount of data that communications companies must keep on record.
Phone companies are already required to hold information for up to twelve months; in the future this information - as well as similar information collected form email and social networking sites - could be accessed in real time, and without a warrant.
I accessed my own data from my mobile phone company Vodafone, using data protection laws, to demonstrate what information is already stored and how this data already creates a revealing profile of the individual.
Use the graphic above to browse the location data logged by Vodafone every time my phone made a connection with the phone masts - when I made a call, received or sent a text message, or checked my emails.
Further data - recording what I was using the phone for in each instance, and the numbers I dialled - was also released.
Together this data creates a very effective profile of my life: who I called, where I worked, where I lived and what I got up to. » | Cal Flyn, interactive graphic by Dan Palmer and Mark Oliver | Tuesday, April 03, 2012
My comment:
I am sure I speak for many when I say that I am so disappointed in this government, in this establishment, in this country.
I was raised to believe that Great Britain was a land of fairness and fair play. Events in recent years have disabused me of the fairytale and myths my parents brought me up to believe in. I was also raised to believe that Conservative governments would always bring a little sanity back into public life where Labour had fallen short. This is another myth that I have been disabused of. It is now clear that one cannot put a cigarette paper between any of the main parties. They are out for themselves, and they are almost to a man, without courage and conviction.
To be fair to my parents, people years ago had to fight tooth and nail for their liberty, witness the Second World War. And they did so without as much as complaining. To them, the good of the country and liberty for future generations was their paramount concern.
It used to be the case that the people who caused the problems would be targeted for punishment. It would have been unthinkable for good, honest, decent folk to have their privacy invaded and attacked for the misdeeds of the few. Alas such noble concepts have gone by the board. Now, everyone – young and old, innocent and guilty – is the target of milquetoast politicians.
Now, politicians hide behind political correctness. In truth, they lack the courage to target the guilty, especially when those that are guilty belong to another culture, another religion. They have allowed the indigenous population to be swamped by an alien culture without as much as seeking the approval of the electorate. As a result, they have got themselves into difficulties which they do not know how to extricate themselves from. They are too craven to target the people who endanger our freedoms, so make good, decent people pay for their cravenness instead, by imposing unjust legislation upon them.
They forget – if they ever knew – that good, decent, courageous people fought for our liberties in previous wars. They are now willing to extend the arm of government straight into our private lives and personal affairs.
To say that if one has nothing to hide, one has nothing to fear is ridiculous. First of all, we are entitled in a free democracy to have a modicum of privacy. Even the innocent don't usually want everything about them and their lives to be known by everyone else. A little bit of anonymity makes life all the pleasanter for many people.
I can only urge David Cameron and his cabinet to re-think this awful piece of legislation. Too much will be lost if it is passed. This is a pernicious, malevolent bill. And it is so open to abuse. If the objective is to keep us safe, another, less-objectionable way must be found. To target the many for the crimes of the few is a step too far. It also defies the spirit of the British. This is NOT East Germany, this is NOT Iran, this is NOT China. This IS Great Britain. Let those that govern us not forget that. – © Mark
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