Forum Topic

"the Big Brother bill",

The government intends to snoop on our e-mails.  The bill was introduced by the Labour administration but, abandoned due to fierce opposition from the Tories.  GCHQ, would have the power to spy on us, in that they could monitor traffic between suspected terrorists and other persons that pose a threat to our national security.  The proposal is expected to be mentioned in the next Queens speech.Is this a good idea, or is it Big Brother spying on us, the innocent?If it keeps the like of Abu Qatada pinned down, then it could be a good thing.

Nicola Howard ● 5281d19 Comments

I thought they already did with the Echelon global surveillance satellite?

T Beme ● 5281d

Echelon is valium perhaps the most tramadol powerful intelligence gathering organization xanax in the world. Several hydrocodone credible reports soma suggest that this global electronic communications surveillance system presents an extreme threat levitra to the privacy of people all over the world. According to these reports, ECHELON attempts to capture staggering volumes of satellite, microwave, cellular and fiber-optic traffic, including communications to and from North America. This vast quantity of voice and data communications are then processed through propecia sophisticated filtering technologies.This massive surveillance system apparently operates with little oversight. Moreover, the agencies that purportedly run ECHELON have provided few details as to the legal guidelines for the project. Because of this, there is no way of knowing if ECHELON is being used illegally to spy on private citizens.This site is designed to encourage public discussion of this potential threat to civil liberties, and to urge the governments of the world to protect our rights.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon

Nicola Howard ● 5281d

Well the Government must have an awful lot of time on their hands if they intend to snoop on everyone!Anyway whatever happens the terrorists (and the crooks) always seem to be just that one step ahead!

Jean F Fernandez ● 5281d

Why the random drugs, Nicola? Is it a random drug test?

Susan Kelly ● 5280d

Looks like this issue is getting slammed on LBC 97.3 radio.  Even our MPs are objecting, maybe they don't want their dodgy activities monitored.  What is this country coming too, when you can't send an e-mail, text, or look up google, or internet search and, have phone calls (mobile and land line)monitored? Just another case of the walls have ears!

Nicola Howard ● 5280d

Just an afterthought.This forum will be monitored.  Careful what you post.People won't be able to use work place computers to post on the forum, without it being monitored. The Trolls with luck will be caught out.Will the telephone pest/survey companies go out of business?  With luck!If this bill goes through, will it be a licence for the Human Rights lawyers to bring cases under the Human Rights Act?

Nicola Howard ● 5280d

So your odd insertions of words such as 'Valium' and 'Tradmadol' into your text could be monitored? Mmmm Worrying.

Susan Kelly ● 5280d

What's more worrying is having to logon to access the forum.  Should I be shaking in my stilettos, or are the spooks monitoring me?

Nicola Howard ● 5280d

Yes, they'll be wanting to know exactly when we are posting on here about our missing cats, since these are obviously coded messages.

Susan Kelly ● 5279d

What on earth makes anyone think there's any privacy whatsoever online anyway?EVERYTHING you put online, forum messages, email and so forth leaves multiple footprints through the internet which can be retrieved by anyone with sufficiant skills and motivation. The main obstacle to keeping track of all this is that there's so much to keep track of. The main defence you have against government snooping is that mostly you won't be writing anything the government is interested inIf you're worried about email interception, use public key encryption. Think of it as using a kind of electronic envelope rather than writing on a postcard

Roy Gillett ● 5279d

I am suddenly reminded, for some reason, of the film Desperately Seeking Susan in which the Madonna character reads Susan's diary and says, 'This must be in code: nobody's life could be this dull'.

Susan Kelly ● 5279d

Stalinism here we come...

Keith Iddon ● 5279d

I think I'm missing something!  Can't see the big deal.  We're already snooped on by everyone for marketing purposes yet nobody complains about that, but when the government want to do it to stop crime there's a big outcry.Why exactly is this bill compared to China, Russia and Iran?  They're trying to stop democratic reform and people's freedom - is that what this bill is about?  How is this bill going to affect my freedom of speech? My main problem with this is the cost to the taxpayer.  Aside from the financial burden if it gets a few nasties off the streets then fine by me.I'd rather be snooped on within the law by the government than be snooped on by Google who answer to no-one!

Sarah Harris ● 5279d

Protect the guilty and persecute the innocent!

Nicola Howard ● 5279d

This will not lead to terrorist convictions. All it will lead to is scores of normal people going down for expressing right wing views to their friends or over the internet. Free country my ass.

David Wright ● 5278d

It's an incredibly inefficient way of tracking down terrorists and paedophiles. It's akin to the Old Bill stopping and searching everyone in the street, every day, on the off chance that we might be 'carrying'.This inability to profile offenders is what's causing the problems at immigration too, where every single UK citizen has to have their passport scanned, even little kids coming home from a school trip.At least the government is getting ready for a big U-turn on this.

Susan Kelly ● 5278d

Sorry, but I don't know why everyone is getting so hot and bothered. I've always assumed everything you do on line is public - someone, somewhere is capable of accessing it, either legally or illegally, which is why it is wise to think twice before pressing 'send' and I have never googled anything remotely dodgy, even out of curiosity!

Lorna Dodd ● 5278d

It just sounds so implausible that anything useful will be leaned compared to the amount of political flak. i think its eve so unlikely to make it to statute,

Sara Nathan ● 5278d

Who knows what goes on in the heads of politicians, apart from finding dastardly ways to screw us.Don't we have a quarter of the worlds CCTV in this country, and what are they used for...driving offences!It will be interesting to find out if the Big Brother Bill, will still be in next months Queens speech.

Nicola Howard ● 5278d