Britain 'now a surveillance state'

[Kassem]

Britain has been labelled an "endemic surveillance" society by a new report that ranks the country along aside Russia and China in terms of state and commercial intrusion into people's lives.


Richard Thomas, the UK's independent information commissioner, said on Thursday that clear lines had to be drawn about how much information on people, such as their everyday movements or spending habits, government agencies and businesses are allowed to possess.

"Two years ago I warned that we were in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Today I fear that we are in fact waking up to a surveillance society that is already all around us," Thomas said.

A survey of 37 countries released by Privacy International, a civil liberties group, ranked Britain alongside Russia, China, Malaysia and Singapore as countries practising "endemic" surveillance against the individual.

Britain has up to 4.2 million CCTV cameras, or about one for every 14 people and the average Briton is captured about 300 times a day on film.

Terror excuse

The government is pushing ahead with controversial plans to introduce biometric identity cards while Tony Blair, the British prime minister, has said he wants an expansion of the police's DNA database to cover even people released without charge.

Rights groups say governments around the world have used the so-called "war on terrorism" as a justification for increased snooping into the lives of citizens.

"Today I fear that we are in fact waking up to a surveillance society that is already all around us"

Richard Thomas, UK independent information commissioner
 

Thomas said that while some forms of surveillance could help combat crime and terrorism, others risked undermining trust and fostering a climate of suspicion.

He voiced concern about commercial, as well as government, intrusion.

"Every time we use a mobile phone, use our credit cards, go online to search on the Internet, go electronic shopping, drive our cars, more and more information is being collected," he told the BBC. "Humans must dictate our future, not machines."

A report that was compiled for a conference in London of international data protection and privacy commissioners hosted by Thomas predicted surveillance would be ramped up even more in the next 10 years.

Canada top

Among its forecasts are satellite navigation devices in cars that would help police to monitor speed and track selected vehicles.

Further predictions were screening employees for future health problems and their impact on productivity and that monitoring of people's movements would intensify, with the use of unmanned aircraft and street-level security cameras with facial recognition technology.

The Privacy International survey, conducted jointly with the US-based Electronic Privacy Information Centre, was conducted using 13 criteria ranging from constitutional protections to visual surveillance and phone-tapping.

Germany and Canada scored the best marks for civil liberties safeguards.

[J Bananas]

islam will never dominate a civilized country

[Mr. O]

it's same with usa now.

[King Tech Quadafi]

islam will never dominate a civilized country

lol, my ancestors taught your ancestors to bathe

[J Bananas]

islam will never dominate a civilized country

lol, my ancestors taught your ancestors to bathe

my ancestors were french. they obviously didnt have good teachers

[Real American]

lol, my ancestors taught your ancestors to bathe

Then how come you Muslims all have such horrible body odor?

[Kassem]

lol, my ancestors taught your ancestors to bathe

Then how come you Muslims all have such horrible body odor?

last time i heard u were glad about never meeting a muslim

[big mat]

lol, my ancestors taught your ancestors to bathe

Then how come you Muslims all have such horrible body odor?

i like lebanese women's odor

[virtuoso]

This country has horrific control you americans should realise and appreciate what you have and hold on to it for dear life. Things are extremely fucked up here and the political parties are basically the same, no one cries foul, most people here are asleep so the surveillance state becomes even bigger.   

[Mr. O]

This country has horrific control you americans should realise and appreciate what you have and hold on to it for dear life. Things are extremely fucked up here and the political parties are basically the same, no one cries foul, most people here are asleep so the surveillance state becomes even bigger.   

usa is bad too.

[Suffice]

This country has horrific control you americans should realise and appreciate what you have and hold on to it for dear life. Things are extremely fucked up here and the political parties are basically the same, no one cries foul, most people here are asleep so the surveillance state becomes even bigger.   

usa is bad too.

yeah dude, we can be labeled domestic terrorists for protesting, we can have the right to defend ourselves in court taken away by the recent law that was passed, we can have our phones and e-mails tapped at any time. Who knows, maybe every phone conversation we have is recorded in a database somewhere. Soon they'll outlaw sharing videos and then before you know it, America will be on some Gestapo/China/USSR KGB shit

[Suffice]

There's a big surveillance camera in George Orwell square here in Barcelona. How ironic is that?

[virtuoso]

Jesus, yeah that is ironic, where in Spain is that situated?

[Suffice]

Jesus, yeah that is ironic, where in Spain is that situated?
[/quote

Barcelona is in Catalunya, the region closest to the south coast of France.

[virtuoso]

I see i have been there an absolutely beautiful city though I spent most of the day there completely and utterly lost haha. I have an aunty who lives near Murcia and she was basically breaking it down for me, how much of a police state spain is turning into, she is of course very apathetic I guess that is something that happens as people get older but the first time I went to Spain I was oblivious to it it's only when someone who has experienced life over there tells you what is going on, that it suddenly becomes clear.