The People vs the Snoopers’ Charter
From the webpage:
…
Ever googled something personal?Who you text, email or call. Your social media activity. Which websites you visit.
Who you bank with. Where your kids go to school. Your sexual preferences, health worries, religious and political beliefs.
Since November, the Snoopers’ Charter – the Investigatory Powers Act – has let the Government access all this intimate information, building up an incredibly detailed picture of you, your family and friends, your hobbies and habits – your entire life.
And it won’t just be accessed by the Home Secretary. Dozens of agencies – the Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC and 46 others – can now see sensitive details of your personal life.
Over 200,000 people signed a petition to stop the Snoopers’ Charter, the Government didn’t listen so we’re taking them to court and we need your help.
There’s no opt-out and you don’t need to be suspected of anything. It will just happen all the time, to every one of us.
The Investigatory Powers Act lets Government keep records of and monitor your private emails, texts and phone calls – that’s where you are, who you speak to, what you say – and all without any suspicion of wrongdoing.
It forces internet companies like Sky, BT and TalkTalk to log every website you visit or app you have used, creating a vast database of deeply sensitive and revealing information. At a time when companies and governments are under increasingly frequent attack from hackers, this will create a goldmine for criminals and foreign spies.
Your support will help us clear the first hurdle, being granted permission by the Court to proceed with our case against the Government.
It’s time we all took a stand. We’ve told the Government we’ll see them in court and we need your help to make that happen. Please donate whatever you can to fund this vital case.
… (emphasis in original)
In case you are missing the background, see: Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which is now law in the UK.
The text as originally enacted.
The true extent of surveillance in the United States is unknown so it isn’t clear if the UK was playing “catch up” with this draconian measure or trying to beat the United States in a race to the least civil society.
Either way, it is an unfortunate milestone in the legal history of a country that gave us the common law.
From a data science perspective, I would point out that no input = no surveillance.
Your eyes maybe better than mine but in the surveillance camera image, I count at least three vulnerabilities that would render the camera useless.
Ordinary wire cutters:
won’t be useful but a gaff hook could be quite effective in creating a no input state.
The same principle applies whether you choose a professionally made gaff hook or some DIY version of the same instrument.
A gaff hook won’t stop surveillance of ISPs, etc., but disabling a surveillance camera could be seen as poking the government in the eye.
That’s an image I can enjoy. You?
PS: I’m not intimate with UK criminal law. Is possession of a gaff hook legal in the UK?