techybloke666 said:
But since we're asking questions, why not just obey the speed limits, keep your car taxed and insured and don't break the law without being accepting of the consequences? Then they can track all they like but will never be able to fine you. Individual selfishness and greed perhaps?
This statement scares me. Whilst it may be a simple solution when it comes to driving, it can also be read as: "Obey all laws without questioning because all laws are always right".
Firstly, no other government has churned out as many, dare I say, useless laws that all have to be adhered to now. Secondly there are laws that are for all intents and purposes either money spinners or propaganda tools. Lets take the laws on drugs. Here I am, law abiding in all areas, working, collecting pay rises due to good work, do no harm to anyone ever but if I want to smoke a joint, I am doing something illegal. I am being criminalised even though I am definitely NOT a criminal.
Imagine other laws coming out that actually infringe for once in YOUR life, stopping you to do something you used to enjoy and making it illegal.
Imagine also that all your habits are kept on some obscure database. If any government needs I higher quota in detecting crime, they will just print out a list of those who have given away their souls and the police can go and nick them for points.
Imagine you like fishing or photography, two hobbies that may well become illegal soon [the way it is going]. Usually law abiding people could end up in jail or get fined.
Also what if you have changed your habits but you are still on an old database as someone who "used to" smoke cannabis, "used to" do XYZ?
Who is going to update millions of people's lives?
Take the data already kept at my GP's. It says I smoke sometimes, however I have stopped now. As I don't need to go to my doctor at the moment I won't tell them the changes until I have a reason to go there.
Has anyone thought about the maintanance human data needs?
Basics such as eyecolour and date of birth don't change of course but other things they want to know about do.
While I'm at it I might also mention that the pure and simple fact that humans feel physically "uncomfortable" having their data stored should be enough.
We are suspicious by nature, it helped us survive and there is something very unsettling having to bare all. There is no doubt, that it is safer for us to be just a face in the crowd than anyone having too much information about us.
So if it is intrinsically safer not to give our most personal info away, why not honour our human rights to keep it that way.
It is all well and good saying that mistakes by the gov. will [probably] be easily rectified, but I happily bet away all my belongings that there will be some kind of injustice at some point in the future if our data is kept by a third party.
There is no need and I will still be defending my right of privacy for ever.