In order to fight terrorism and crime in the UK, the ministers are setting up a database plan to monitor and store internet browsing habits, e-mail and telephone records of every British citizen. Hundreds of clandestine probes will be installed on two of the biggest internet and mobile phone providers of the country : BT and Vodafone. Ministers are waiting for a blackslash as the one caused by their ID cards programme. Indeed, critics are wondering how such a vast system can be kept secure.
This MP's proposal could be linked with the French one Edvige.
What's happening now ? Why governments are so afraid of terrorism ? It doesn't seem to me that there are more terrorist actions now in France or Great Britain than before, but I might wrong.
What is the real purpose of the governments? Is it to fight terrorism or to control more closely their citizens'actions in order to have more power on them ?
But, we can wonder if their power is going to be accepted because legaly legitimated or if there is a power contestation, is the proposal going to be signed despite this desagreement ?
Are governments going to use soft power and persuade people that their proposal is good or even pass it behind them,maybe turned in a more reassuring form ; or are they going to use a "force" power ?
This proposal also sets a democratic question. Indeed, where are the limits of people's liberties and private lives and the ones of the "national interest" (ie, the nation's security) ? This kind of monitoring process looks more like a dictatorship behaviour of control over citizens. However, governments are warming and asking people's opinions, which seems a democratic behaviour. How can citizens be sure that police and intelligence agencies are not going to abuse these datas ?
Interesting article about another "spy programe" in the UK
The Interception Modernisation Programe http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4882622.ece
To know more about the ID programe http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4825353.ece
lundi 13 octobre 2008
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MARK: 18/20
- on time (2/2)
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- resumé para (6/7)
- comment para (6/7)
Another excellent post. Your resumé is succinct and to the point. You might have mentioned, however, that this is still at the proposal stage and that no final decision has yet been taken by the government.
Your comment para is also very good. This article has obviously raised lots of questions for you...and not quite so many answers! I'm very pleased that this week you've attempted to answer some of them. Your link to Edvige is also interesting - but I want to see you follow your thoughts through. What are the similarities? Are the UK and France both using the same terrorist argument to justify these schemes? Who is clearly against such schemes and why? Why was the UK ID card scheme also so unpopular? Etc. Answering these questions requires a bit of extra reading, but it is reading well worth doing!
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