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Is Big Brother watching you?
Wednesday 25th April 2012 | Osh
After The Hadopi Law in France and the ACTA in the USA, comes a new blow to internet freedom ; UK government wants access to all emails, text messages and internet use and will propose sweeping snooping powers in upcoming legislation.
If they have their way, a number of police agencies will have access to all emails, text messages and internet histories. Their powers will be like those of GCHQ, the government's central intelligence *cough* spying agency, and MI5.
The government, preaching more and more about security against terrorism or internet attacks, are, at the same time, reducing the freedom of all the uk internet users. This scenario is beginning to remind us of Big Brother.
Indeed, Big Brother Watch, a civil liberties organisation, has already condemned the proposals and sniffed at their timing, saying;
"This is an unprecedented step that will see Britain adopt the same kind of surveillance seen in China and Iran. This is an absolute attack on privacy online and it is far from clear this will actually improve public safety, while adding significant costs to internet businesses."
Moreover, with so much power given to police institutions, who can guarantee to the public that this power won’t be abused?
Trying to protect people is honorable, but we should think long and hard about where we want to draw the line between being protected and being controlled.
