Europe Moves To Track Phone and Net Use 120
An anonymous reader writes with a NYTimes piece on the early moves by European governments to implement an EU data retention directive. The governments of Germany and the Netherlands are initially proposing much more stringent programs than the EU directive requires. For example, the German proposal "would essentially prohibit using false information to create an e-mail account, making the standard Internet practice of creating accounts with pseudonyms illegal." The Times notes that, early days as it is, nevertheless some people involved in the issue are "concerned about a shift in policy in Europe, which has long been a defender of individuals' privacy rights."
Re:Fictitious Email Accounts (Score:5, Interesting)
I have said on several occasions, that we will find ourselves in trouble, when technology finally allows for constant surveillance of every member of society everywhere, all the time. Given historical and current precedents, it's logical to assume that once such capacity exists, it will be rapidly implemented.
I have this cold chill down my spine, telling me that perhaps Hitler was right about the 1000-year-Reich, but was just off by a few decades. After all, total surveillance will finally allow the government to fulfill what seems to be its chief purpose anyway - maintaining the status quo indefinitely.
Odd... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:"It's totally unenforceable and would never wor (Score:3, Interesting)
People keep repeating that, but is it actually true? The black hats make mistakes, too. Shouldn't increasing the number of ways in which they can trip up increase our chances of finding them out before they strike?
Doesn't surprice me. (Score:3, Interesting)
During WWII the Dutch government was as zealous about these things as they are now and had none whatsoever problem in sharing their records on Jewish and other wanted people with the NAZIS. The current political generation behaves not really different from that time so don't look strange if they sell out their populace again.
Re:Inevitability (Score:2, Interesting)
Right now those people simply dont exist.
What makes you think that you will always be given a choice, sure you can pick A B or C but what if all the choices are just the same choice?
In a system like that, revolution might be the only way, and even then you have to wait till things are so bad, people just wont take it any more, things have to reach a tipping point.
The government knows this, so they keep people just happy enough with the little things people are afraid to lose, house, cars etc... that you dont mind giving up the little things till its to late.
Dont make it sound so simple as just vote them out! it really not that easy.
This is the exact reason why so many people get so fustrated with out government today.
There is not a politician that represents many of the things, many of us feel strongly about, and even if there was, you either would not get the financial backing you would need from corporations, or you would be brushed aside by media ready to cover Anna Nichole Smith, or they would just make you look like you on the side of terorists or some such nonsense.
Either way right now it seems like you either play ball, or you dont play, giving us the same smucks every year and nothing really changes unless they want it to. this is how it is setup to work. If that makes you think you are changing things and are in control then its working.
Re:The EC is there to undermine national constitut (Score:2, Interesting)
The Commission mostly present itself as a legislative power, and when they make the various countries' legislatures pass laws that never would had gone through on the local level, the Executive branch moan that it's not their faults but that of big bad ol' EU.
They conveniently forget that the Commission is made-up of people designated by the various Executive powers and from then on are mostly unnaccountable for whatever they do. The 'check and balance' with the parliament is mostly a joke.