- Individual privacy is being eroded in Britain to a far
greater extent than in other developed countries, according to an international
study of state surveillance in the year since September 11.
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- Many states have rushed through restrictive anti-terrorism
and security laws in response to last yearís terrorist attacks,
but the Blair Government is singled out for an anti-privacy ìpathologyî
that the report claims is leading to mass surveillance of the population.
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- In the 400-page report, to be published tomorrow, Privacy
International, a London-based campaign group, and the US Electronic Privacy
Information Center, give warning of a significant loss of personal freedom.
The Privacy and Human Rights survey notes that in many of the 53 countries
studied, communications surveillance has grown, intrusive ìpersonal
profilingî of individuals has increased, and data protection laws
have been watered down.
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- ìIn the rush to strengthen national security and
to reduce the risk of future terrorist acts, governments around the world
turned to legal authority and new technology to extend control over individuals,î
the report states. ìMany of these proposals have had far-reaching
consequences for the protection of privacy.î
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- The report highlights the British Governmentís
use of the terrorist threat to introduce new requirements for personal
communications data to be stored and to launch a new debate about a national
identity card. David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, also sought in June
to extend the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to allow private e-mail
and telephone records to be shared among more than 1,000 government agencies.
After facing strong protests, Mr Blunkett withdrew the proposal a few weeks
later and announced that he had ìblunderedî.
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- Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, said
the report highlighted ìa systematic attack on the right to privacy
by all levels of the British Governmentî. He added: ìThe UK
demonstrates a pathology of antagonism toward privacy. The rate of growth
of video surveillance, communications surveillance and information collection
has exceeded the growth rate in such countries as Singapore and Israel.î
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- The erosion of privacy in Britain was not a new trend.
ìCrime and public order laws passed in recent years have placed
substantial limitations on numerous rights, including freedom of assembly,
privacy, freedom of movement, the right of silence, and freedom of speech,î
the report states. It cites a number of illegal spying and surveillance
activities by government agencies, often in violation of the European Convention
on Human Rights, and estimates that 1.5 million CCTV cameras are now monitoring
public spaces.
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- Amnesty International says today that anti-terrorism
laws introduced in Britain in the wake of September 11 are inconsistent
with international human rights and should be repealed.
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- The charity claims that the Anti-Terrorism Crime and
Security Act, passed last November, contravenes fundamental human rights
and calls for an immediate repeal of section 4, which empowers the Home
Secretary to detain foreign nationals indefinitely, without charge or trial,
if they pose a risk to national security.
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- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-404768,00.html
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