UK branded an 'Enemy of the Internet'

[Amp34]

It's a bit more indepth than that is it not? There are a lot of dangers and threats out there, would a good parent not protect their children from potential risks? We don't know half the things these agencies know and they believe they have to monitor certain communications so as to keep up with any potential threats, it's a double edged sword, there would be an outcry if there was a terrorist incident that could have been potentially stopped. Apparently agencies like the NSA, although they gather bucket loads of data it's more for reference rather than keeping up-to-date tabs on millions of people. If you have nothing to hide....

Yet the Senate report on NSA data has pointed out that, with the phone metadata at least, it hasn't helped in a single case...

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/23/politics/nsa-telephone-records-privacy/

Moreover, the five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board said it's been largely useless in thwarting terrorism.
"We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation," the board wrote in the report released Thursday.

 

[TheBigCheese]

Are you honestly trying to say that Governmental agencies such as GCHQ and the NSA are rummaging through people emails/facebook accounts for sheer kicks, curiousty or for criminal purposes such as stealing passwords or bank details. No I think you will find they are looking for information about activites such as terrorist plots, spying, espionage, serious fraud....

I'm not talking about GCHQ, NSA or anyone else.

I'm talking about me coming and having a rummage through your house because you have nothing to hide.

Are you happy with that or does the idea appal you? If it's the latter then maybe you get a sense of what people are feeling about the spying that's going on.

It's not random facebook posts it's everything you send over the internet, the person you phone, where you go (smartphone GPS tracking), what you buy, your hobbies, where you spend your time, where you go (number plate recognition) and thanks to credit card receipts and location data, a damn good guess about what you are doing.

Virtually everything you do in a 21st century world is captured logged and monitored.

Oh and governments aren't big parents like you seem to think they are, they aren't a fuzzy warm protection. They are automated systems hoovering up everything and then giving a human being the ability to look through everything it's collected about you. It's simply spying on the general population.

I couldn't gather that much information about you if I was looking round your house!


*edit*

Oh, I should also add...are you happy for me to look at your medical information? Thought not, but I read the other day that the big new NHS centralised database which will make it easier for you to be treated if you have an emergency outside your local area...yeah, that's going to be available to other organisations to look through as well (I haven't read up more to verify this yet). There is a reason why the UK is called the most surveilled state on the planet.

 

[PapaLazaru]

buy, your hobbies, where you spend your time, where you go (number plate recognition) and thanks to credit card receipts and location data, a damn good guess about what you are doing.

Virtually everything you do in a 21st century world is captured logged and monitored.

So what do you do personally to try and stop this? Or do you just carry on and moan about it?

 

[iamtheoneneo]

It's a bit more indepth than that is it not? There are a lot of dangers and threats out there, would a good parent not protect their children from potential risks? We don't know half the things these agencies know and they believe they have to monitor certain communications so as to keep up with any potential threats, it's a double edged sword, there would be an outcry if there was a terrorist incident that could have been potentially stopped. Apparently agencies like the NSA, although they gather bucket loads of data it's more for reference rather than keeping up-to-date tabs on millions of people. If you have nothing to hide....

I have nothing to hide IN MY OPINION, but just because I THINK i dont, doesnt mean someone somewhere at sometime will think the same and thats a big problem.

Also it has been pretty much identified that the data the NSA collects doesnt help stop terrorism , what helps is informants and people on the ground within these circles - Ya know espionage the old fashion way.

The UK is becoming pretty crazy with its internet laws, you have the blacklist at the moment, the porn filters and the potential of a white list on the table and were in real dodgy China/Iran territory here.

So no im not surprised were on the list and the government need to really start thinking about the long term implications of what there doing.

 

[SlyReaper]

Are you honestly trying to say that Governmental agencies such as GCHQ and the NSA are rummaging through people emails/facebook accounts for sheer kicks, curiousty or for criminal purposes such as stealing passwords or bank details. No I think you will find they are looking for information about activites such as terrorist plots, spying, espionage, serious fraud....

Yes that is exactly what we're saying. Remember the Snowden leaks? Turns out the NSA and GCHQ weren't just rummaging through the stuff of criminals or terrorists, they were also collecting information to discredit outspoken activists and critics of the government. If that doesn't terrify and enrage you, I don't know what will.

 

[TheBigCheese]

So what do you do personally to try and stop this? Or do you just carry on and moan about it?

I'd tell you but I could be being monitored.

 

[TheBigCheese]

Yes that is exactly what we're saying. Remember the Snowden leaks? Turns out the NSA and GCHQ weren't just rummaging through the stuff of criminals or terrorists, they were also collecting information to discredit outspoken activists and critics of the government. If that doesn't terrify and enrage you, I don't know what will.

Exactly! The more information that's collected the easier it will be to turn you into a criminal if they want to.

Take for example the extreme porn law that came into effect some time ago now, it's the most bizarre weird law. But it's great for hoovering up people who previously weren't committing any crime, oh and it has the added bonus or labelling people deviants to the frothing media to discredit them in the process.

 

[m4cc45]

Essentially, sooner or later, they will think that this data can be used to legally stop something. Something like downloading illegal content, viewing illegal content, etc. Because they have the systems in place it's not hard to change the filters.

Also if you have all of this information connected to the internet it's only a matter of time before it gets stolen by someone else. I'm not, neccessarily, referring to a single person but I bet certain Governments would love to see it.

Do I trust the Government to hold, keep safe and secure any data? Not a chance in hell. If they have systems in place to break SSL, etc. then it's only a matter of time before it becomes common practice.


M.

 

[pitchfork]

Are you honestly trying to say that Governmental agencies such as GCHQ and the NSA are rummaging through people emails/facebook accounts for sheer kicks, curiousty or for criminal purposes such as stealing passwords or bank details. No I think you will find they are looking for information about activites such as terrorist plots, spying, espionage, serious fraud....

They rely on propaganda to keep office, they don't want the few people with a brain left in their head to jeopardize that.

Once they have leverage they can crush anyone who stands against them, what better way than to spy on their entire population, collect leverage from anyone who threatens that and at the same time censor everything which could have a similar effect.

Not to mention all the key data they can use to improve the effectiveness of their propaganda and lies. If you think democracy is a huge load of crap right now, wait until they have the control they're striving for.

 

[robgmun]

wow, Jsmoke really misjudged the room

 

[ttaskmaster]

Why are they spending all my tax money gathering all this data on everyone?
Surely it's cheaper to just buy it off the companies that already have it??!!

Special this week: "Buy two million people's data, get a half million extra for free"!!

 

[robotSocks]

righto.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!

 

[jh30uk]

Will I still be able to visit my fav girl in a bathtub though?

 

[robgmun]

 

[The Dread Pirate]

*Snip*

+100 Intarwebz points to that man !

 

[ANDARIAL]

Will I still be able to visit my fav girl in a bathtub though?

You mean ******?
Whoa even the name is censored !!

 

[jh30uk]

I know so is plural girls with a single cup, WTF is the world coming to

 

[thep02]

So what do you do personally to try and stop this? Or do you just carry on and moan about it?

Moaning about it is a perfectly reasonable response in a democracy, there's loads of stuff my govt do that I hate but I'm not going to become an urban terrorist so moaning and trying to influence others to my viewpoint is enough at the moment if things get much worse and more folk wake up to the crass corruption may be the system will change.

 

[eddyc]

Exactly! The more information that's collected the easier it will be to turn you into a criminal if they want to.

Take for example the extreme porn law that came into effect some time ago now, it's the most bizarre weird law. But it's great for hoovering up people who previously weren't committing any crime, oh and it has the added bonus or labelling people deviants to the frothing media to discredit them in the process.

I was about to wade in on this one but easier to just quote. +1 to this.

And remember what you might have to hide is not just what's illegal currently it's also whatever might be made illegal in the future under any future government.