No 2 ID Newsletter 115

south west | policing | news report Monday February 02, 2009 10:58 by no2id supporter

no to the datebase state!

NO2ID has been warning since 2006/7 about the stated intentions of government "to overcome current barriers to information sharing within the public sector" [1]. Now the Ministry of Justice has launched an extraordinary coup. It is about to convert the Data Protection Act into its exact opposite, a means for any government department to obtain and use any information however it likes.

+ A CONCEALED ASSAULT ON PRIVACY +

NO2ID has been warning since 2006/7 about the stated intentions of government "to overcome current barriers to information sharing within the public sector" [1]. Now the Ministry of Justice has launched an extraordinary coup. It is about to convert the Data Protection Act into its exact opposite, a means for any government department to obtain and use any information however it likes.

Hidden in the new Coroners and Justice Bill [2] is one clause (cl.152) amending the Data Protection Act. It would allow ministers to make 'Information Sharing Orders', that can alter any Act of Parliament and cancel all rules of confidentiality in order to use information obtained for one purpose to be used for another.

This single clause is as grave a threat to privacy as the entire ID Scheme. Combine it with the index to your life formed by the planned National Identity Register [3] and everything recorded about you anywhere could be accessible to any official body.

The Database State is now a direct threat not a theory.

Quite apart from the powers in the Identity Cards Act, if Information Sharing Orders come to pass, they could (for example) immediately be used to suck up material such as tax records or electoral registers to build an early version of the National Identity Register. But the powers apply to any information, not just official information. They would permit data trafficking between government agencies and private companies - your medical records are firmly in their sights - and even with foreign governments.

ACT NOW!

We urge you to write to your MP straight away via http://www.WriteToThem.com - don't wait. The Bill is being rushed through Parliament, even as we write. It contains a number of controversial provisions, but to the casual reader appears mainly to be about reforming inquests and sentencing.

As it progresses, NO2ID will be publishing more information but it is crucial that every MP realises how dangerous the information sharing clauses in the Coroners and Justice Bill really are. This will only happen if YOU tell them.

*In your own words*, please ask your MP to read Part 8 (clauses 151 - 154) of the Coroners and Justice Bill, and to oppose the massive enabling powers in the "Information sharing" clause. The Bill is due its Second Reading in the Commons on 26th January 2009.

Request them to demand the clause be given proper Parliamentary scrutiny. This is something that will affect every single one of their constituents, unlike the rest of the Bill. There is a grave danger that the government will set a timetable that will cut off debate before these proposals - which are at the end of the Bill - are discussed.

With support for the ID scheme crumbling, even in the Home Office's own skewed polls - the last of which showed a 5% drop [4] - trust in the government's handling of our personal information is at an all-time low.

A YouGov poll in the Sunday Times on 18th January shows that the public opposes these new powers by a factor of 3 to 1 *against*. 65% of people asked said they give government "too much power", only 19% thought not [5]. The government can't pretend a popular mandate for what it is doing. And it is a mechanism designed to by-pass parliament in future. It is being done only for the convenience of the bureaucrats.

Please write NOW - http://www.WriteToThem.com - it won't take long, and we are going to ask you again. But if you don't start now, our battle is going to be much harder.

Please ALSO pass on or forward this part of the newsletter to friends, family and colleagues who might share your concerns. The more people it reaches, the more we hope will act.

We really can't afford not to win.

What just happened?

+ Many thanks for Modern Liberty volunteers +
A big thank you for the fantastic response we had from our request in the last newsletter for volunteers to steward at the Modern Liberty Convention in London on 28th February. Many thanks to all those who have agreed to help out on the day.
More details of the event at: http://www.modernliberty.net

+ STOP PRESS: Information Commissioner takes enforcement action against the Home Office +
The Information Commissioner�s Office has found the Home Office in breach of the Data Protection Act after a contractor, PA Consulting, lost an unencrypted memory stick holding sensitive personal details of thousands of individuals in August 2008. Details lost included information about individuals serving custodial sentences and those who had previously been convicted of criminal offences.
Read more at http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/pressreleases/20...e.pdf

+ NO2ID's Take Jane advert hits a nerve with Hillier +
Meg Hillier the minister responsible for the ID scheme has written an angry letter to the Spectator magazine after they ran NO2ID's 'Take Jane' advert. Take Jane shows a glimpse of one woman's story, in a future Britain where the omnipresent databases make hiding impossible. The grim message is that the ID scheme isn't simple and isn't safe. Clearly the video hit a raw nerve with Hillier, in her letter she said: "In the circumstance portrayed in the advert, we would work with such a woman, or the organisation providing her with sheltered housing, to find a mutually agreeable, third-party address for her to use". Strange that Hillier would suggest that this is government policy as they specifically rejected amendments to the ID cards bill that would have provided for the National Identity Register to contain a contact address rather than place of residence.
Read Hillier's letter at: http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/the-week/321285...thtml
Watch our Take Jane video at http://www.no2id.net/TakeJane/

+ New Data Protection guidance on ID scanning in pubs and clubs +
The Information Commissioner�s Office has published new data protection guidelines with reagards to the use of ID scanning equipment in pubs and clubs. NO2ID has been concerned for some time about developments in ID checking and fingerprinting in clubs and pubs. The new guidelines to do not call into question the use of such technology, they simply offer "good practice recommendations". For instance they state that: "Handy credit card sized notices can be distributed at the door" which explain why the system is operated and "if any sharing with other scheme (such as Pub Watch) is involved.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_pro...9.pdf

+ Security check point toy goes on sale +
A Playmobil toy has been produced that lets children experience the joys of security check points. Comments on the amazon website, who sell the toy include: "I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger's shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger's scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said 'that's the worst security ever!'"

+ LOCAL GROUPS NEWS +
To see if there's a group in your area check our list at http://www.no2id.net/localGroups/
Or, if you're interested in starting a group yourself, please contact Matty on local.groups@no2id.net to discuss what's involved and what we have in place to support coordinators and their groups.

+ Bristol +

+ 4th February - Bristol NO2ID Meeting +
Wednesday, 4th February 7pm at Deco Lounge, Cotham Hill.

+ 28th February - Modern Liberty satellite Convention +
Saturday, 28th February at New Trinity Hall we will be holding a Modern Liberty satellite convention in conjunction with An Adventure in Technology. More details at (http://www.modernliberty.net/satellite-conventions/bristol) as they become available. This event is free to attend.

"ID" in the news

+ Explainer: Data sharing - The Guardian 22/1/09 +
Public bodies do not � yet � have a free hand with personal information. The Coroners and Justice Bill, published on 14 January, proposes turning some of these ideas in to law. In particular, it empowers the "appropriate minister" to make an "information sharing order" that would "any person to share information which consists of or includes personal data".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/...aring

+ Facebook 'super database' protesters plan to spam Home Office - Computerworld UK 22/1/09 +
A Facebook protest against the government's planned £12 billion 'super database' of electronic communications has called on people to forward all their emails to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for one day.
http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/online/new-me...12924

+ It's going to be a long, hard road to defend our liberties - The Independent 19/1/09 +
Of course we are in the vanguard, we always are. And for those who think the Database State is a self-evident abomination, the Domesday Book was one of England's founding documents.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/simon....html

+ Let the war on hypocrisy begin - The Observer 18/1/09 +
Look no further than the news of recent days to know why the Convention on Modern Liberty, launched last week in London by Baroness Kennedy, is so critical and is inspiring such support.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/18/hen...ntion

+ Whitehall departments to share personal data - The Guardian 15/1/09 +
Controversial fast-track powers to remove the barriers to the widespread bulk sharing of personal data across Whitehall departments and throughout the public sector were unveiled yesterday by the justice secretary, Jack Straw.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/15/sharing-...ehall

+ New giant database will store private details of EVERY person in 'Big Brother' Britain - Daily Mail 15/1/09 +
Under controversial plans unveiled yesterday, all public bodies will be able to request private details held by every Government department, agency or council. The data will be transferred around the country in bulk, effectively creating giant databases of information.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1116066/New-gia....html

+ MEPs set to debate new biometric rules for passports - europarl 13/1/09 +
Later this year all European Union members and 3 other states will start issuing biometric passports which contain fingerprints and facial recognition features. The UK is excluded from the Regulation as it is not part of the Schengen zone. However, it has said it will keep in step with regulation to ensure its documents are not perceived as "2nd class".
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/01...n.htm

+ School bosses tell pupils: no meals without an ID card - Sunday Herald 11/1/09 +
Education chiefs have been accused of trying to force secondary pupils to carry ID cards by refusing to serve school dinners to dissenters. Scottish Borders Council told parents children not carrying the electronic microchipped National Entitlement Card (NEC) will not be fed.
http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var...d.php