Online Privacy: A thing of the past

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

The missus wanted a new Android tablet for Christmas, the old one showing signs of wear and tear after almost 4 years of use. It arrived in the post today and just now she saw me setting it up with the usual apps and security measures including, she noticed, a bit of tape over the camera and mic.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to the tape. "Well" I replied, "You don't want a live camera pointed at you while you watch Netflix in bed, do you?". She scoffed at me and called me a typical conspiracy theorist.

I asked her if she had missed the huge, scandalous news stories about NSA/GCHQ running illegal global surveillance on the public, to which she responded with that awful line "Well, I have nothing to hide".

"OK well if you have nothing to hide, why don't you post nudes of yourself on Facebook, along with your credit card numbers and medical history?" I replied. She paused to think about that one. I carried on "What if you woke up one morning to find the window cleaner filming you through a gap in the curtains, I assume you'd be fine with that, would you?"

"No, of course not" she replied.

Even with Edward Snowden's revelations of illegal mass surveillance followed by his asylum in Russia, of all places, and pictures of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg covering his own camera and mic people don't seem to care about their own right to privacy any more and worse still, they trot out the line "I've got nothing to hide", seemingly inviting scrutiny from our overlords, as if presumed innocence is also a thing of the past.

I asked her if she heard about the Snoopers Charter that had been quietly made into law this week. "Snoopy what?" she replied.

I explained that now, every citizen of this country is basically a criminal in the eyes of the law and that we all are now having evidence gathered on us whenever we log onto the Internet.

Furthermore, I showed her the ridiculous list of agencies that now have access to some of our most private information, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Food Standards Agency, the Gambling Commission, councils and the Welsh Ambulance Services and many, many more.

Not only did the NSA/GCHQ get away scot-free with their illegal mass surveillance, but the biggest annihilation of civil rights in human history has now been made into law in the UK with barely a whimper.

I can't wait to see all the terrorists that will definitely be caught now and how safe we'll all be in future because of this.

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

Full list of all the agencies that now have access to your browsing history:

• Metropolitan Police Service
• City of London Police
• Police forces maintained under section 2 of the Police Act 1996
• Police Service of Scotland
• Police Service of Northern Ireland
• British Transport Police
• Ministry of Defence Police
• Royal Navy Police
• Royal Military Police
• Royal Air Force Police
• Security Service
• Secret Intelligence Service
• GCHQ
• Ministry of Defence
• Department of Health
• Home Office
• Ministry of Justice
• National Crime Agency
• HM Revenue & Customs
• Department for Transport
• Department for Work and Pensions
• NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England that provide ambulance services
• Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service
• Competition and Markets Authority
• Criminal Cases Review Commission
• Department for Communities in Northern Ireland
• Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland
• Department of Justice in Northern Ireland
• Financial Conduct Authority
• Fire and rescue authorities under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
• Food Standards Agency
• Food Standards Scotland
• Gambling Commission
• Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority
• Health and Safety Executive
• Independent Police Complaints Commissioner
• Information Commissioner
• NHS Business Services Authority
• Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust
• Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Board
• Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Regional Business Services Organisation
• Office of Communications
• Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
• Police Investigations and Review Commissioner
• Scottish Ambulance Service Board
• Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
• Serious Fraud Office
• Welsh Ambulance Services National Health Service Trust

[Barry Shitpeas]

We've been sleepwalking into this for many years. The reason that they are so easily getting away with it very simple, it's gradual, step by step, brick by brick we are losing our privacy in the name of security. And it will continue to happen because there will always be people that will continue to say "I've got nothing to hide" until in ten, twenty, fifty years we will literally end up having our every move monitored. But because it will have happened over decades, there will still be people saying "if you've done nothing wrong....."

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I posted a message on here years ago regarding the fact that Facebook and the like is not only intrusive but that all such data will eventually accessed by third parties in due course. I received some amusing responses that such information would only be shared with one's loved ones and friends.

[Mrs Steve R]

We've been sleepwalking into this for many years. The reason that they are so easily getting away with it very simple, it's gradual, step by step, brick by brick we are losing our privacy in the name of security. And it will continue to happen because there will always be people that will continue to say "I've got nothing to hide" until in ten, twenty, fifty years we will literally end up having our every move monitored. But because it will have happened over decades, there will still be people saying "if you've done nothing wrong....."

Not all of us have been sleepwalking, I've moaned about every step, I'm just a paranoid loon though

[jon1959]

Not all of us have been sleepwalking, I've moaned about every step, I'm just a paranoid loon though

Sometimes even paranoid loons are right.

[Ainsley Harriott]

Full list of all the agencies that now have access to your browsing history:

You make it sound as though, because they have the ability to access your browsing history, that they're actively doing this...

I for one highly doubt that the "NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England that provide ambulance services" are taking a keen interest in my penchant for gay interracial transgender midget porn...

[Taunton Blue Genie]

We are now realising the 'Truman Show' effect. Young couples put scans of their baby on Facebook and document for public consumption various events regarding their children in the years that follow. By the time their progeny has enough awareness of such things it's too late.

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

You make it sound as though, because they have the ability to access your browsing history, that they're actively doing this...

I for one highly doubt that the "NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England that provide ambulance services" are taking a keen interest in my penchant for gay interracial transgender midget porn...

Yeah, you're right. We should just trust them to do the right thing, it'll probably be fine.

[Baloo]

You make it sound as though, because they have the ability to access your browsing history, that they're actively doing this...

I for one highly doubt that the "NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England that provide ambulance services" are taking a keen interest in my penchant for gay interracial transgender midget porn...

What do you reckon they are interested in then?

[blue matt]

We are now realising the 'Truman Show' effect. Young couples put scans of their baby on Facebook and document for public consumption various events regarding their children in the years that follow. By the time their progeny has enough awareness of such things it's too late.

you really have issues with childrens lifes being documented on facebook dont you ? ?

I am in the other camp, it just might be that when they are older, they / you can look back ( you have memories to look back on today link ) and remember things that went on, for instance, this week one of my memories was when my daughter did a swimming gala and got 3 " country times ", yea sure i could write it all down in a diary, but for me, FB is just that, sure " they " ( whoever is snooping on it ) will see that she swam a county time in 50 , 100 & 200 breast stroke, but why would they want to know, other that sell the info to a marketing company to target a advert for the new " michael phelps book ", which i purchased today as a christmas gift for her

[Mrs Steve R]

Sometimes even paranoid loons are right.

People should remember that.

Have you noticed how cheap smart tv's are these days? cheap enough to have one in each room

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

TBG, Blue Matt, this is not about the information we voluntarily put into public view but the stuff you might have preferred to keep private but no longer have that option.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

you really have issues with childrens lifes being documented on facebook dont you ? ?

I am in the other camp, it just might be that when they are older, they / you can look back ( you have memories to look back on today link ) and remember things that went on, for instance, this week one of my memories was when my daughter did a swimming gala and got 3 " country times ", yea sure i could write it all down in a diary, but for me, FB is just that, sure " they " ( whoever is snooping on it ) will see that she swam a county time in 50 , 100 & 200 breast stroke, but why would they want to know, other that sell the info to a marketing company to target a advert for the new " michael phelps book ", which i purchased today as a christmas gift for her

I don't have 'issues'. I merely have a concern that some children will reach adulthood not realising that an audit trail of their life is accessible to unknown parties.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

TBG, Blue Matt, this is not about the information we voluntarily put into public view but the stuff you might have preferred to keep private but no longer have that option.

The whole concept of 'private' is an interesting debate where the Internet is concerned.

[Ainsley Harriott]

People should remember that.

Have you noticed how cheap smart tv's are these days? cheap enough to have one in each room

That's normally simply due to the learning/experience curve of the TV industry.

Happened with plasmas, happened with HD Ready TVs, 1080p, 3D, curved, 4K, and HDR.

4K HDR sets will in the next few years be at the circa '£300 for 50 inch' range...and then 8K or 16K or Ultra Super Mega HDR will come out

[Ainsley Harriott]

You make it sound as though, because they have the ability to access your browsing history, that they're actively doing this...
I for one highly doubt that the "NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England that provide ambulance services" are taking a keen interest in my penchant for gay interracial transgender midget porn...

What do you reckon they are interested in then?

Probably Latino ass-to-mouth bukkake gang bangs tbh.

[Mrs Steve R]

That's normally simply due to the learning/experience curve of the TV industry.

Happened with plasmas, happened with HD Ready TVs, 1080p, 3D, curved, 4K, and HDR.

4K HDR sets will in the next few years be at the circa '£300 for 50 inch' range...and then 8K or 16K or Ultra Super Mega HDR will come out

I was joking

[Pearcey3]

I have always been in the nothing to hide camp. However we seem to be a country with ever greater surveillance and it is concerning that what you consider to be private isn't so at all. It now does seem excessive and intrusive. It could have a huge impact upon youngsters growing up with social media.

[life on mars]

I have always been in the nothing to hide camp. However we seem to be a country with ever greater surveillance and it is concerning that what you consider to be private isn't so at all. It now does seem excessive and intrusive. It could have a huge impact upon youngsters growing up with social media.

We are also a country that terrorist don't like to attack due to our surveillance, have a look at some of the quotes from the recent terrorists who chose weaker countries to attack for their lack of survelliance.

Bring on as much survelliance as you like, and idenity card's I've got nothing to hide, and feel safer for it.

[Baloo]

I have always been in the nothing to hide camp.

Snowden I thought spoke well on this when he said “Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”

[kingbillyboy]

shite

you are a window licker son. if you have a shop, you dont turn on the cctv *after* youve been robbed do you? no, you have it on all the time.

same principle cockface.

grow up and stop being paranoid. do you really think there are hundreds of people employed at chletneham to watch your mrs's webcam??

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

We are also a country that terrorist don't like to attack due to our surveillance, have a look at some of the quotes from the recent terrorists who chose weaker countries to attack for their lack of survelliance.

Bring on as much survelliance as you like, and idenity card's I've got nothing to hide, and feel safer for it.

FVCKING. HELL.

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

you are a window licker son. if you have a shop, you dont turn on the cctv *after* youve been robbed do you? no, you have it on all the time.

same principle cockface.

grow up and stop being paranoid. do you really think there are hundreds of people employed at chletneham to watch your mrs's webcam??

This is... I'm not even answering this.

[Wales-Bales]

Who is protecting us from the bees and the wasps that cause at least 5 deaths a year?