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Big Brother Awards for Privacy Invaders
Dozix007 writes "The Register reports that the shortlist for this year's Big Brother awards for nasty privacy invaders has been released. The awards include: Worst Public Servant, Most Invasive Company, Most Appalling Project, Most Heinous Government Organisation and Lifetime Menace Award - now renamed the David Blunkett Lifetime Menace Award. Pressure group Privacy International, which organises the awards, said it was overwhelmed by nominations for Blunkett, the Home Office and national ID cards but they had been recognised in previous years."
But I'd like to thank my parents, George W. Bush, that Senator that beat me after he died, Bob Jones University, Muslims all over the world, and of course God, for making this possible!
John Ashcroft
Here is the website for The 2004 UK Big Brother Awards, for those of you who want to skip over that puny Register article. My thoughts on this subject is that it's a great idea to shine a huge spotlight on those who would infringe upon privacy, to give them a taste of their own medicine. Of course I don't condone tapping their phones, blackmailing the execs or sending boxes of poo to their doors (like on Six Feet Under's recent arc). This award show will do just fine, in an almost biblical manner of sinning the sinner.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
I'm sure MS will be on that list. They managed to get an OS on my computer that I didn't want.
404
Where is the US equivilent ????
"If you are interested in attending the awards you need to register at UKBBA@privacy.org"
:)
I wonder if you have to give them your real name.
I'd like to see an annual list of organizations, companies, banks, utilities that sell your address and phone numer to marketers. I expect if I sign up for a "club card" at Safeway or some other retailer, that my info is potentially up for grabs, but when I signed up with Sierra Club, my junk mail exponentially grew, and I OPTED OUT!! of the sharing info option. I think they probably kill more trees than they save. I've received 3 renewal notices from them since February of this year, and my membership expires in August!
The bank insists "that customers report to a branch with documents to prove their identities".
The article does not explain under what circumstances the bank requires this, perhaps to open an account.
So why is this invasive? Would the judges rather have the bank naively believe anything a potential con-artist tells them over the phone?
In this age of identity theft, this might be a bank to consider. Apparently, they take a persons true identity seriously.
No, not quite. He's in charge of the Home Office. The Home Office is not like "Homeland Security". It's much, much, MUCH bigger than that. Homeland Security is basically the equivalent of MI5/Special Branch which whilst coming under the juridstciotn of the Home Office is tiny in comparison to the rest of the organisation.
Think of it this way - you have lots of functions that are carried out by various ministries - the MoD looks after Defence, the Foreign Office sorts out diplomatic affairs (and intelligence agencies), Dept of Health looks after the NHS, etc., etc.
Anything that is left over, goes to the Home Office. This includes all law enforcement (at all levels), part stake in MI5, and anything else nobody else is prepared to take responsibility for. It is a MASSIVE department, dwarfing every other UK government department.
Blunkett, whilst in charge of the Home Office has introduced some interesting laws. Nearly all of them specifically remove civil liberties from the UK citizen, and he has announced an ID card that will eventually replace driver's licenses, passports, etc. and will carry biometric data. A corresponding matchup of the data is held on government computers, it's use is ill-defined, in short, it's a hideous idea that is being lobbied for by a company that stands to make a lot of money out of it.