IC Wakes Up, Smells Coffee, Shows Coffee To MPs

Richard Thomas, the UKs Information Commissioner, has issued a damning statement about the Government's plans for a surveillance society. As reported by the BBC, he said a "climate of fear" may be created unless he gets greater powers to counteract "excessive surveillance".

This is almost perfect timing, coming on the back of John Reid's announcement that in order to reduce iPod and mobile phone theft, manufacturers should make them operated by fingerprint. Rather than increase street numbers of police, deal with the inequalities in society that encourage people to steal, or even suggest not taking expensive items out of your pocket in public and avoid bad areas.

Because if you give your fingerprint to the company who make the mobile/mp3 player then the Government could probably justify taking that information and adding it to a database for "security reasons". You know, so they could ring you when it gets found, that kind of thing. Or know who to come and visit should you be illegally downloading mp3s or anything suspicious like phoning someone in Pakistan/Iran/North Korea.

I sincerely hope that the IC gets his point across to the many MPs who seem all to keen to let the UK "sleep walk into a surveillance society"