Privacy groups have been following this development in Britain. Tomorrow, legislation alters the notion of privacy for all telephone calls - whether it is a land line or a cell phone:

“Officials from the top of Government to lowly council officers will be given unprecedented powers to access details of every phone call in Britain under laws coming into force tomorrow.”

link: Big Brother Britain: Government and councils to spy on ALL our phones

It is all in the name of security. Perhaps the British legislator should remember the caution that Benjamin Franklin raised over two hundred years ago: “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”. And, unfortunately, this is not the final step in surrendering basic civil liberties.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster:  http://flyinghamster.com/

[tags]phone calls, privacy, security, legislation, surveillance, benjamin franklin, britain[/tags]