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Skriven 2004-08-17 01:06:30 av Steve Asher (3:800/432.0)
Ärende: Thomas Slams UK ID Plans
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News
Thomas slams ID plans
16 August 2004

The head of the UK's data protection organisation has made strong
criticisms of the government's identity card programme

The UK's Information Commissioner has given powerfully worded warnings
over the government's ID card plans saying he is worried that the
country may be about to "sleepwalk into a surveillance society",
according to reports on 16 August 2004.

Richard Thomas, who heads the independent organisation tasked with
overseeing data protection and freedom of information laws, is
reported as saying that the ID card scheme lacks clarity, a situation
which is "not acceptable".

In an interview with The Times newspaper, Thomas points to the
experience of authoritarian regimes in Europe to illustrate his
concerns.

"Some of my counterparts in Eastern Europe, in Spain, have experienced
in the last century what can happen when government gets too powerful
and has too much information on citizens. When everyone knows
everything about everybody else and the government has got massive
files, whether manual or computerised," the paper reports him as
saying.

"My anxiety is that we don't sleepwalk into a surveillance society
where much more information is collected about people, accessible to
far more people shared across many more boundaries than British
society would feel comfortable with."

Thomas was interviewed by the paper after submitting his
organisation's response to the draft ID card bill last month.

His main concern in his submission to the Home Office was the lack 
of clarity over the stated purpose of the programme. He called for
further clarification on the "nature and extent of the personal
information" to be collected and retained by the government under the
programme. He also wants more explanation on the reasons why "such a
large amount of information needs to be recorded" as part of the
process of establishing identity.

According to Thomas, the plans also remove people's right to see which
government bodies are gaining access to their information. He has
asked the government to "reinstate this fundamental data protection
right".

Thomas also wants the Home Office to address the "uncertainties and
risks" relating to the administrative and technical side of the scheme
and has asked for stronger independent oversight of the plans.

                            -=<*>=-

Source: Kable's Government Computing - http://www.kablenet.com/
Publication date: 16/08/2004 13:26:54



Cheers, Steve...

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