OT: UK to screw Net privacy *again*

[Owen Blacker]

Sorry, off topic, I know, but possibly of interest and I haven't seen it
commented on here.  There's a healthy couple of threads about this on
the UK Crypto list, which is definitely a more appropriate place for
further discussion (though check the archives first, eh?  :o)  See
<http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ukcrypto> for more
info on that list.

http://www.stand.org.uk/ and http://www.fipr.org/ are good sites for
further information on this.  The proposed law affects traffic data
~not~ content (so email headers but not Subject: lines or bodies; web
domain accesses but not individual pages; who you've called but not what
was said), but traffic data do include the position information sent by
cellphones every few minutes, so they ~do~ include a complete record of
your movements, if you keep your phone with you.

What is being proposed, in brief, is to open up the list of who can
request access to these data ~without a warrant or judicial oversight~
from being law enforcement, intelligence services, Inland Revenue and
Customs and Excise to include just about every organ of state in the UK.

This really is a big deal, guys.

I've waxed lyrical enough.  I'll leave y'all to it (and apologise again
for the off-topic-ness), and point you all to http://www.stand.org.uk/
and http://www.fipr.org/ again, and suggest that any UK residents here
communicate with their elected representatives.  I'd recommend
http://www.faxyourmp.com/ , but then I would, as I'm one of the
volunteers behind the site.

Thanks for bothering to read this far, now go do something about it!
:o)


Owen x
-- 
Owen Blacker | Senior Software Developer and InfoSecurity Consultant
See http://www.owens-place.org.uk/pgp.html -- more about my PGP keys
Sig  0xb48e805e | 0e31 ac2a 4ff2 62a0 89da  ddef 4223 99a6 b48e 805e
--
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
 safety deserve neither liberty nor safety --Benjamin Franklin, 1759