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The Big Brother State

Posted by IanWhickham on Monday, 15 January 2007 22:09:17

Before I start, well done to Oliver Heald for pointing out the civil liberties implications of the latest New Labour data wheeze. "Big Brother state" is exactly what Blair seems to have set his heart on.

The Whitehall data sharing plan is the thin end of a huge wedge, suggesting as it does that data from existing databases e.g. at the Inland Revenue, Department of Work & Pensions, DVLA will be effectively combined to enable a much more detailed profile of an individual to be built up.

It is when this relaxation of privacy-protecting rules is considered in the context of other New Labour IT projects such as the NHS Spine,which if the Department of Health get their way will hold all NHS patients' detailed medical records, and the Children's Index of all under 18s in England, that the dangerous implications it will have become clear.

The Government has proven incapable of keeping personal data secure (Private detectives 'stole' data from the Police National Computer and DVLA database among others - Iain Dale), and even appear to have difficulty in making sure data is accurate and up to date (Criminal Records - Sunday Mirror).

David, will you pledge to halt the march of the Big Brother state, and commit to a course of action that will protect privacy and civil liberties, including repealing the Identity Cards Act 2006?

Ian
SELECT Privacy
NO2ID

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Posted by DaveGould on Wednesday, 17 January 2007 14:05:58

In addition to the upcoming Children's Index and Medical Database, there are the DNA database (for which Blair announced his intent that every citizen be forced upon it), the new Automated Number Plate Recognition car journey tracking system, the planned car satelite tracking system, the new e-passport database and most importantly, the National Identity Register (ID database).

Thus we have 7 Giant New (Labour) Databases excluding the Whitehall one recently reported on. The National Identity Register is designed to merge them to create an individual surveillance dossier. But to create their Orwellian State, first New Labour have to do away with the safeguards: the Data Protection Act, first introduced by the Tories, coincidentally, in 1984. And the Human Rights Act and the ECHR, the latter of which we were the first to sign up to in 1953 to prevent the kind of creeping totalitarianism that resulted in the Nazi atrocities.

The implications of their recent announcement to do exactly that cannot be understated. Should we ever be stupid enough to go down that road, there will be no coming coming back.

We know Dave Cameron, like every other normal person, is against this sort of thing. We know the Tories have pledge to scrap the ID scheme. What we want to know is whether they will scrap the National Identity Register and any other central index that could be used to create this Orwellian State. Also, what will Dave do to bolster the Data Protection Act so that such dangerous merging of databases can never be done in the future?

Posted by Dogsmilk on Wednesday, 17 January 2007 23:44:08

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-4839556520925774502&q;=suspect+nation - Henry Porter gives a good rundown of the nightmare we're sliding into.
'Nothing to fear if you've nothing to hide' my backside. A bit rich coming from a government that won't even release the cctv footage from 7/7 they say they've got and gives exemptions for its own kids from the children's database for 'security reasons' (!?). This is about control, pure and simple. You are now the property of the state. They're actually talking about ID implants - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2517940.html - get worried.
At least 'the terrorists' won't be able to 'destroy our freedoms' if there's none left to destroy.

Posted by kozmicstu on Wednesday, 17 January 2007 23:52:00

You know you're tired when you see 'Henry Porter' and it looks like 'Harry Potter'

Feel free to ignore me

Stu

Posted by willbab on Thursday, 18 January 2007 15:09:56

once the super data base is up and running and we all have a chip in our neck,private motor car ownership
banned and permits needed to travel from town to town,wages replaced by food vouchers,perhaps then, far too late
of course,our poloticians will realise they should have acted to stop the march towards the Big Brother State.
Do something now to stop this lunacy before the above becomes a reality!!!

Posted by blackpikex on Sunday, 21 January 2007 04:51:36

add to the above goverment databases all the data that they get from credit and debit card operators. Once all the wheely bins have rfid chips and supermarket packaging will soon have rfid chips in , the goverment will probably no more about you than you know yourself, also don't forget that every large isp has to keep records of every webpage you visit and every e-mail you send and lets not forget that every telephone call you make is logged. If you want to know how it will feel to live in the UK 10 years from now watch the following films.
GATTACA (1997), Brazil (1985), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

then read :-
Aldous Huxley's brave new world.

On January the 12, 2007 the Telegraph and Argus reported that the Police are being issued with Tazer shock guns. Why?
all the better to enforce the totaliterian police state thats why.

I'm probably going to do time in a gulag just for writing this assuming that I dont get executed for my body parts to fund the Labour party since it borrowed all that money from all those nice capitalists.

Oh and by the way David you do know that MI5 probably have more information on you than you can remember yourself. Maggie Thatcher kept a very close eye on the likes of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson and Robin Cook right back into their NUS days.

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