Keeping things private
After talking yesterday about how the UK is becoming a surveillance society, it was interesting to read today of a meeting between the Information Commissioners of the UK, Germany, France and New Zealand to put common principles in place to protect our privacy. All the more so given that Germany scored highest in the survey I linked to yesterday.
“The protection of citizens’ personal data is vital for any society, on the same level as freedom of the press or freedom of movement,” said the communiqué adopted by commissioners. “As our societies are increasingly dependent on the use of information technologies, and personal data is collected or generated at a growing scale, it has become more essential than ever that individual liberties and other legitimate interests of citizens are adequately respected.”...
Last week [the UK Information Commissioner, Richard] Thomas warned that the UK had become a surveillance society, and that the constant monitoring of individuals’ actions by public and private bodies was creating social division. A report produced for the commissioner’s office said that in the future wealthy people would be made more mobile by surveillance, while poorer people would find it harder to be physically and economically mobile because of social profiling based on data gathering.
(Thanks to The Register for the tip.)
pax et bonum
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