PJC Journal – Original » 2007 » March

Mar

10

Government Snoopers guide to your home

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Disclosure of the “revaluation
handbook” follows months of concern over the powers available to 4,300
staff of the Valuation Office Agency, the quango in charge of putting homes
right across the country into council tax bands, and the methods they use.

The “illustrated guide” for
council tax inspectors (Govt. snoopers) has been made public following Freedom
of Information requests after months of stalling by ministers. They claimed
that since it contains pictures of real homes it could not be published
“in order to protect privacy“.

“Ministers have shown shocking
contempt for Parliament by refusing to reveal their sinister handbook. No
wonder they are now clamping down on the Freedom of Information laws which
secured its release.”

Read the full article here in This
is London

Global trend towards surveillance in hands of private companies

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Countries worldwide regulating in the field of
privacy are generally following “the EU data protection model”, notes a report
from the Electronic Privacy Information Center
and Privacy International. The EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic
Communications does offer confidentiality, the report says, but globally it
sees a trend towards more surveillance.

“Around
the world, new laws have been enacted and many bills are pending to protect
individuals' right to privacy and data protection,” the report says. “While all
25 countries of the European Union now have a harmonised set of data protection
laws, most other countries that are regulating in the field of privacy are
located in Asia and Latin America. They are generally following the EU data protection
model. Last year, a European Directive (‘on Privacy and Electronic
Communications’) was implemented in more EU countries compared to previous
years, offering internet and telecommunications users protection against spam,
and confidentiality for their communications.”

But
the report also emphasises that “many countries around the world have pursued
policy and legislative efforts that aim at increasing the surveillance
governments exert over individuals. They have done so by establishing or
reinforcing identification schemes and monitoring individuals' communications.
At the same time, governments relentlessly tried to weaken data protection
regimes while intensifying the collection of information from public and
private sources, and sharing it with an increasingly wider range of law
enforcement and national security agencies.” New laws permitting greater
surveillance have often been motivated by the fight against terrorism, but
“many do not provide adequate oversight, and a recent trend has been a growing
reliance by governments to delegate their tasks of collecting and storing
information to the hands of private companies”.

The UK is one such country.

With concerted efforts to neuter and nullify the Freedom of Information Act.

Source

Global trend towards surveillance in hands of private companies

IanPJ Main Page Add you comment

Countries worldwide regulating in the field of
privacy are generally following “the EU data protection model”, notes a report
from the Electronic Privacy Information Center
and Privacy International. The EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic
Communications does offer confidentiality, the report says, but globally it
sees a trend towards more surveillance.

“Around
the world, new laws have been enacted and many bills are pending to protect
individuals' right to privacy and data protection,” the report says. “While all
25 countries of the European Union now have a harmonised set of data protection
laws, most other countries that are regulating in the field of privacy are
located in Asia and Latin America. They are generally following the EU data protection
model. Last year, a European Directive (‘on Privacy and Electronic
Communications’) was implemented in more EU countries compared to previous
years, offering internet and telecommunications users protection against spam,
and confidentiality for their communications.”

But
the report also emphasises that “many countries around the world have pursued
policy and legislative efforts that aim at increasing the surveillance
governments exert over individuals. They have done so by establishing or
reinforcing identification schemes and monitoring individuals' communications.
At the same time, governments relentlessly tried to weaken data protection
regimes while intensifying the collection of information from public and
private sources, and sharing it with an increasingly wider range of law
enforcement and national security agencies.” New laws permitting greater
surveillance have often been motivated by the fight against terrorism, but
“many do not provide adequate oversight, and a recent trend has been a growing
reliance by governments to delegate their tasks of collecting and storing
information to the hands of private companies”.

The UK is one such country.

With concerted efforts to neuter and nullify the Freedom of Information Act.

Source

LIES LIES LIES about WHAT the ID card is FOR

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We
have always told you that ID cards and biometric passports is about people control, not about identity theft or fraud, or
even illegal immigration, but controlling you and your movements, along with fingerprints,
DNA databases, RFID, NHS spine, tracking in cars,
4m cameras, email and telephone taps, more police arrest powers, more HMRC spying, bugging and entry powers, data sharing etc.

I wrote yesterday
about some strange wording in the immigration rules enforcement strategy document, with a reference that
drew my attention about the need for data sharing to deal effectively with
illegal migration. Not immigration but illegal migration.

I said immigrants
come in, migrants go out.

This could have
connotations as it did in the former East Germany of keeping people in, not keeping people
out, but using electronic methods rather than a Berlin Wall.

We
have always told you that this is about people control, not about law and order, identity
theft or fraud, but controlling you and your movements.

Today, this was confirmed.

James Hall, chief
executive of the Identity and Passport Service, the official in charge of the
supposedly-voluntary scheme, delivered his warning during a Downing Street
“webchat” and said the Government would allow people to opt out – but
in return they must “forgo the ability” to have a travel document.

Asked what would
happen to people who refuse to join the £5.4 billion scheme. Mr Hall replied:
“There is no need to register and have fingerprints taken – but you will forgo
the ability to have a passport“.

People will be
required to give fingerprints, biometric details such as a facial scan and a
wealth of personal details – including second homes, bank accounts, family
members, driving licence and insurance numbers.

With one in every
eight people saying they will refuse to sign-up, up to five million adults
could effectively be refused permission to leave the country. As time goes on,
you will also be refused health services, banking, benefits and anything else
the government says you will need an ID card for.

Campaigners
reacted to Mr Hall's remarks with fury, saying they were yet more evidence of the
lurch towards “Big Brother” Britain.

As reported in
the Daily
Mail, Legal challenges were inevitable, as restricting the right of free
movement is a grave breach of human rights law. Strange how politicians have been calling for us to opt-out of the European Human Rights Act, now we know why.

This is about people control, not about identity theft or
fraud, or even illegal immigration, but controlling you and your movements.

The Home Office
said it had never hidden the fact anybody refusing to give their biometric and
other personal details to the ID cards database would not be eligible for a
passport. THIS IS A LIE, an out and out LIE.

As the truth behind each bit of the jigsaw begins to come to light, it
confirms that this government is undertaking a coup d'etat, creating the Orwellian state.

And it is being driven
by an UNELECTED European Commission, with this Government being complicit lock,
stock and barrel.

see what the rest of Europe is doing on eGovernment News.

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/chapter/355

Whatever they tell you today,
you can be sure it will be used for something different tomorrow.