ID Nation

The Database State: Comfort and Security or an Orwellian Nightmare?


The date 9/11 is forever etched into our minds - despite the fact that, in British terms, the date was 11/09 - we all know what happened on the 11th of September, 2001. At least we think we do, but that's topic for a different discussion. America was attacked, by an apparent "threat from without". What this meant for the citizens of the US was that they were under the threat of repeat attacks. Still reeling from the shock of what had happened (after all, why would ANYONE have a vendetta against the USA?), the government took the opportunity to introduce new security measures, which would "prevent terrorism". Anyone I have spoken to who has been through American airport security since 2001 will tell you that things are so much more strict now that it is frightening. The same happened in the UK soon afterwards, with 7/7 reminding us that we, too, were in danger - only this time the enemy was "within", meaning that the supposed terrorists were amongst us, plotting away to destroy us from inside like a cancer, rather than an external threat that we could block out. Of course, most of you know what happened, you don't need my patronising reminder. A lot of you will also have read a few conspiracy theories on what actually happened - if not, a couple of starting points for you (9/11 truth; 7/7 truth). Whether or not you believe that the government was behind - or at least had prior knowledge (which they didn't act on) about - these attacks, they certainly used them to their advantage.
Look back to a few years ago - the 90s, or before that (depending on your age). How often did you need to prove your identity? Perhaps when you were 17 and wanted to buy alcohol - when the bumfluff you grew on your chin wasn't enough to convince the bartender that you were 18. Perhaps when you needed to go abroad, you would need a passport. What information about you was available? Medical records were kept securely by your personal doctor. Forms you filled in were rare, and the option was often available for you to prevent your data from being passed on.

What is known about you now, in the year 2007? Well, if you use the internet regularly, here's a starter. See what Google knows about you - basically, everything you have ever searched for, every page you have visited through Google, every email you send and receive... from this alone, Google is able to build up a fairly accurate profile of who you are. Consider how much you might let slip, for example, on a chat over MSN. It is all logged. Yep, they even know what porn you like. Internet aside, most of you will have a credit/debit card, meaning that everywhere you have shopped, what you bought and how much you spent is all recorded, and that includes a pretty good idea of where you were at any given time. Oh, and of course, if you carry your mobile phone around, any call or text you send or receive. That's only the start of it - the UK apparently has 20% of the world's security cameras, and for such a small island, that is a big concentration of CCTV. If you can be recognised from a security still, then imagine how well your movements can be tracked every time you leave the house. Personally, I get quite disturbed by the thought that every time I go out and get very drunk, it is on a video recording somewhere.

What do they want to know about you? In the UK, the government plan on introducing ID cards next year. Anyone applying for a passport will be issued with one, and in 2010 they will become compulsory. Some countries already have ID cards in operation, and have no problem with it. However, this alone shows that ID cards will not "prevent terrorism". Spain use them, and yet Madrid was still attacked. In fact, there is no link between the use of identity cards and the prevention of terrorism. Add to that the fact that we are expected to pay for these compulsory cards, and the fact that the technology they plan to use (they want your fingerprints and your retina scan) has not really been tested. And, of course, the UK's wonderful record of handling beauracracy and not messing it up. The problem is not with the ID cards, anyway. The problem is the massive amount of data that the government will accumulate about each one of us. The plan is to add all the information to the National Identity Register.

Here is BBC news's Q+A session about the cards. One interesting one is this:

Q: Will it be compulsory to have an ID card?
A:From 2010, all passport applicants will be issued with ID cards but if Labour wins the next election it will bring forward legislation to make them compulsory for all UK citizens over the age of 16 whether they have a passport or not. It is not currently planned to make carrying ID cards compulsory.

*Cough*VoteLibDems*Cough*. Another quote from the Q+A is "the government says it wants to give people a sure-fire way of proving they are who they say they are". There we have it. They do not trust us. They don't trust me to say I am who I am; they are calling us all liars. Yes, there are people who commit identity fraud, it's true, but for every one of them there are thousands of people who work hard, obey (most of) they law and pay the ridiculous amount of taxes that they ask of us - and what do we get in return? Suspicion and doubt that we are being honest about our identities. So we have to have ID cards, so that they can keep tabs on everything we do... in case we step out of line or say something that we shouldn't. Just when you thought you'd escaped from your controlling parents! When a person is born into this world, they have to be registered. Everything they do has to be approved by people "higher" than them. If we are all born equal (hah), then what gives some people the right to the power over our lives? What divine force lets them hold our rights in their hands, to charge us for existing, to tax us for breathing? Who are they to ask us to prove that we are worthy to go about our lives without being hassled? Why should we have to gain a license to live? (...breathe...)

The thing is, it won't stop at the ID cards. As the government already admit now that they will do nothing to reduce terrorism, combined with the fact that people are ALREADY starting to create fakes, it will soon be reported that a more "foolproof" method if identification is needed. Heck, it's already used in animals, and is being marketed to families in America, too - especially to parents who are paranoid about their children's whereabouts. Yes, it's the bio-chip implant. No larger than a grain of rice, it would be inserted into your hand and scanned - no need to carry those cumbersome cards around with you any more! Of course, your every move would be traceable, and that's only the beginning. The Christians, of course, are going to love that idea - what with the book of Revalations claiming that the mark of the beast would be a chip in the head or hand (that no man may buy or sell without it)... eerie...

Fancy having your life ruled by one of these?

A few things you can do. If you live in the US, the Federal Privacy Act means that you can request to find out what information the government knows about you - click here. If you want to search through the same websites as Google, BUT without your data being logged, use Scroogle - it deletes the cookie every 48 hours, and your searches will not be linked to each other. Get involved with NO2ID, because the more people get involved, the better. Try using cash instead of your card where possible, and be careful of "firewalls" that are meant to block your PC from viruses but are in fact spyware programmes. Of course, you might not mind having information about yourself so readily available, thinking "I have nothing to hide". But of course, you do - unless you genuinely don't mind the world knowing everything from embarrassing incidents from your schooldays to your favourite sexual fantasy? Everything you have ever said, about anyone, to anyone else? Every time you got really drunk and did things you are not proud of? Yes. Everyone has something that they would like to hide; it doesn't have to be illegal, or dangerous, but it is nice to have privacy and things that you do not show the world. Unless you really don't mind? Fair enough. My advice is for anyone who doesn't want their lives to be an open book. Especially if you read up on anything like conspiracy theories... it is sometimes better to stay under the radar. Or, at least, create a "persona" so that nobody will suspect you of such "unsuitable" thoughts ;) - the world, after all, is a stage...



Staying under the radar... the real fight is to keep your mind

Resources:

http://www.no2id.net/
http://www.911truth.org/
http://www.julyseventh.co.uk/pdf/j7.htbg-faq.v2.0.pdf
http://hublog.hubmed.org/archives/000942.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3127696.stm
http://www.spy.org.uk/wtwu.htm
http://www.spy.org.uk/icb/archives/2004/12/1_the_national.html
http://www.av1611.org/666/biochip.html
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35766
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa121299a.htm
http://www.scroogle.org/