"Piracy" & Privacy - Can the UK ever get it right?

With ACS:Law and its current issues that it has to deal with and the DEB which appears about as well thought out as the flight of Icarus, we learn that the UK may find itself in court over privacy breaches on the internet.  We all remember Phorm and the fuss around it, so it comes as no surprise (albeit a little delayed) that the European Commission is finally getting the matter into a court room.

Alex Deane of Big Brother Watch is reported to have said:

It is humiliating that we have to rely on the European Commission to point out the problems with Britain’s privacy laws…..What is clear is that UK internet users were being regularly snooped on to help companies target advertising, which amounts to a massive intrusion on our online privacy

Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/842695-internet-snoops-put-britain-in-the-dock

What a great place the UK is for Web users.  We have reports of law firms making “requests” for information about accounts alleged to be downloading pornography with personal details linked to that pornography leaked on the Web.  Phorm with its Webwise allegedly snooping in on your browsing usage for directed advertising and the DEB looming on the horizon…..what a lovely picture of “Digital Britain”.

As the Metro (source above) reports it:

Britain is being taken to court for flouting European rules on internet privacy after ignoring warnings about online snooping for 18 months.

and we have yet to see what “treats” are in store when the DEB comes into play.

“Digital Britain”?  In terms of getting it right online,  we are not even analog.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

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