UK, US, Russia, China - surveillance blackspots
A report by Privacy International has again found the UK to be up there with such enlightened regimes as Russia, China, and the US in terms of how intrusive surveillance is in our society.
Yes, we are on a par with countries that have appalling human rights records. Great. On a par with regimes that think it's fine to murder citizens, to elect leaders in perpetuity, and those that practice such positive human endeavours as 'extraordinary rendition' to countries that allow torture.
Having no written constitution is going to give the UK a low score for privacy, but we are also world leaders in having some of the worst records for government data sharing, visual surveillance, communications interception, and surveillance of medical records, financial transactions, and cross-border movement, according to the report.
Ok, China and Russia have a worse human rights reputation than the US and the UK, but for how long? Especially when we do things like letting our police force get away with shooting innocent Brazilian carpenters in the head. Seven times.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post is reporting that US federal government will soon offer its citizens an RFID enabled identity card that can be read at a distance of 20 feet, for those who frequently cross borders.
Hmmm, can you spot the flaw in that plan? Maybe from 20 feet away? What is to stop hackers from reading the cards? More serial identity theft seems just around the corner.
From the article:
"The goal of the passport card, an alternative to the traditional passport, is to reduce the wait at land and sea border checkpoints by using an electronic device that can simultaneously read multiple cards' radio frequency identification (RFID) signals from a distance, checking travelers against terrorist and criminal watchlists while they wait.
"As people are approaching a port of inspection, they can show the card to the reader, and by the time they get to the inspector, all the information will have been verified and they can be waved on through," said Ann Barrett, deputy assistant secretary of state for passport services."
Yes, or maybe they can be detained without trial, indefinitely, at Guantanamo Bay? Or frog-marched to an airless room and held for hours because their name is on a list they have no right to see or change if the information is erroneous?
Lucky US citizens, and lucky us.