Stop snooping around

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Draft Communications Data Bill is set to be pushed through government this year. Better known as the ‘snooper’s charter’, this will give hundreds of organisations and agencies the right to access your communications data, without even going through a court.

Accessible information would include who you have been calling, emailing or texting, as well as when and where; what websites you have been visiting; basically your whole digital footprint, except for the content of your communications.

The justification for this is that it provides essential information that could potentially prevent serious crimes. However, there is already legislation that allows security agencies and the police to access communications data if they suspect a person to be a security threat. So in reality, the snooper’s charter will simply result in a society distrusted by an ever more intrusive state. It is an unnecessary invasion of our private lives, with no legitimate reason for it.

we are guilty until proven innocent

Now, I often hear “If you have nothing to hide then what are you worried about?” The answer is simple: If I am innocent, I should not be suspected of crimes and be subject to such all-inclusive measures. You see, implicit within the charter is a dangerous idea, one that contradicts the very foundations of our excellent legal system: we are guilty until proven innocent. In order to be considered innocent, it will no longer be enough to have never committed a crime. Instead your every move will be recorded, analysed, and used in an attempt to implicate you.

The only reason a government might require so much information from everyone would be if it saw every individual as a threat. It shocks me that in our society that promotes acceptance, our government could be so distrusting, to the point of paranoia.

There is also the worry of where the boundary between private and public life is. The majority agrees that the content of personal texts and messages are private, but it’s not such a leap to allow access to your Facebook or Twitter profile. Then it’s just another small step before they can access your Facebook messages or Snapchat. From there it’s all your digital data, and before you know it they have control of your mind.

Ok, maybe it won’t come to that. But where we draw the line on privacy is a serious topic that has somehow passed the average person by.

before you know it they have control of your mind

As a nation we are already under more governmental scrutiny than at any time before, and with privacy no longer being some discrete notion of ‘public’ and ‘private’, there is a real need to prevent this creeping invasion of privacy. We need to draw up definite boundaries between what is deemed public information, readily accessible to the police; and private information that you can share in confidence among those you choose, without the threat of it being intruded upon.

The snooper’s charter does the opposite, it needs to be prevented, and a real law that protects our right to privacy must take its place. This is by no means easy, but it is urgently necessary.
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Photo: Flickr/vintagedept