Computer Weekly:
IT suppliers that collaborate with the government on the increasing
surveillance of law-abiding citizens face a public backlash, and may be
at risk of acts of violence, including the smashing of computer centres.
“Collaborators”. Yep, that about sums up those aiding the government's unending drive towards a total surveillance society.
The
warning was issued to hundreds of IT, security and finance executives
at a conference on board the cruise ship Aurora recently.
In a
keynote speech to delegates at the City IT and IT Security Forum, Ian
Pearson, a former BT “futurologist” and a chartered fellow of the
British Computer Society, spoke of a backlash against the government's
preoccupation with surveillance technologies.
Regardless
of what our MPs like to think, trapped as they are in their own
protective bubble that doesn't reflect the reality that the rest of us
exist in, I too can see the evidence of a major “backlash” already
under way. And it will only grow, as more and more people wake up to
the fact that what is being done to us is planned, and not the result of a series of (otherwise well intentioned) cock-ups.
Within
five years Pearson predicted that the government's crackdown on
law-abiding people could lead to marches in the street, demonstrations
outside some computer centres and – if the government takes no action -
targeted acts of violence.
Needless to say, the Libertarian Party does not condone acts of violence.
He
told the invited audience of some of the UK's largest IT suppliers and
users, “By 2012 to 2013 tops you will see a technology backlash in the
major population. Why is it relevant to you? Because if your firm is
providing services to government authorities, which help the government
to crack down on law-abiding people, you are in the firing line. Be
very careful you are on the right side of the line when the [backlash
occurs]. You need to be very careful indeed.”
He added, “Be
careful how you market new products Make sure people do not understand
the link between you and the government which is trying to crack down
on their everyday lives. That will make you on the wrong side of the
firing line.”
(highlight mine)
You see? IT suppliers know that their technology is intentionally
being, and going to be, used against everyday, law-abiding people. Not
criminals. Not terrorists. But you, your family and your friends.
He
referred to the surveillance state as the “Stepford Society” and said
that the ever-increasing use of technologies to oppress people could
become an electoral issue. The party which credibly promises a
reduction in surveillance technologies could generate support to win a
general election.
If you ignore the occasional
posturing by the Tories — for that is all it is — there's only one
political party in the UK committed to rolling back all of this
totalitarian b*llocks. That's because there's only one party that
thinks that small government is the natural and right state of affairs,
and that the state should exist to serve us, and not to rule over us.
Pearson
carried on speaking, stating some facts that are blatantly obvious to
us all, but which the government will never acknowledge:
He
said that law-abiding people are being “put in a digital prison by
overt surveillance by the government” while criminals roam free.
“We
are heading rapidly towards a society where the government is
increasing surveillance under the guise of cracking down on crime, but
they are actually cracking down on law-abiding people to make sure they
are not just quite law-abiding but absolutely law-abiding.
“You
close your wheelie bin lid every single week to make sure it is
absolutely closed. And you only put it out at five past eight in the
evening so you do not catch a fine for putting it out at five to eight.
“The
criminals are walking around free, using high-technology to evade
[government] systems and then they get caught and are let off with a
caution.”
He told the conference, “I think surveillance
technology is great if you can pick out the criminals and terrorists.
That is not actually what governments are using it for. It is too
difficult because terrorists do not fill in the right forms. Neither do
criminals. They put in false IDs. They do not talk to the police very
nicely. You and I do. We have all registered our cars with the DVLA so
when you drive at 75mph though one of these new speed traps with all
the cameras linked together you will get a £60 fine and three points on
your licence.
“The criminal who stole your car and is driving at
120 will not get a fine because it is your car, and he nicked it, and
he can drive at whatever speed he likes. And if it is his own car he
will have number-plates using LCD technology, so his number-plates will
change every time he goes through a speed check. He does not get a
fine, because he does not care about the law.
“The Stepford
Society is a realisation that you cannot lock in the law-abiding
majority of the population forever The rejection of overt surveillance
by the population eventually reaches a critical point, and will bubble
over into some sort of revolution, demonstrations in the streets, and
smashing government computer centres.
“The government will want
to use all these new technologies to force compliance – of course they
do – but some people will realise that others are getting away with it
We all read periodically that someone in government has left a memory
stick or a PC on a train. That can happen only so many times before I
get really annoyed that it is my records that have gone missing and I
may suffer the consequences an identity theft You cannot keep
increasing surveillance ad infinitum without the population objecting.
Eventually it will become an electoral issue where the party that says
it will reduce surveillance will get elected.”
Apart
from the ballot box and taking to the streets (which I am sure some
will), you do have another course of action open to you. Whereas the
government may be hard to pressure as it is legally capable of
extorting monies from us to fund politicians' lifestyles, businesses
have to compete in a marketplace. And those businesses that piss people
off enough to face a backlash can be pressured simply by us taking our business elsewhere. Don't ever underestimate the power of your wallet.
Examples of The Stepford Society
- Road tolls via satellite-tracking
- Speed cameras
- DNA databases
- Identity Cards
- 25% of the world's CCTVs
- Face recognition systems
- Tax enforcement via integrated databases
- Speed limits built in car management system
- Government knows everywhere you go
- Extensive and permanent police records
- One stop shop for all government data
- Monitoring of e-cash
- Number-plate recognition
- Abuse
of millimetre wave cameras (which measure waves naturally emitted by
the human body, exposing “cold” objects under clothing)
- Extensive monitoring of all electronic activity
Who said our 1984 campaign was not relevant?
Personal details of 280 million people lost in last three years, says KPMG
There IS another way!
The
Libertarian
Party
is the only party that has promised to put an end to this Politics of
Fear, scrap all these intrusive databases, and repeal the many thousands of draconian laws enacted over the past
11
years.
The Only home of Libertarian policy in the UK
Your Life, Your Country, Your Choice.
Hattip LPUK
