Britain may be on the verge of taking a further step into the ‘Surveillance Society’. Already Britain is awash with surveillance cameras and there is the beginnings of a DNA data base. Now there is consideration of a data base for all telephone calls and emails. For the sake of security, it would be a huge undertaking to collect and monitor communication.

“…The government says the growth of the internet means changes must be made to the way communications are intercepted in order to combat terrorism and crime.

In his annual report, Mr Thomas addressed speculation about plans for a government-run database holding details of telephone and internet communications of the entire British population.”

link: Warning over phone calls database

This is akin to the government opening, reading and scanning every piece of snail mail that passes through the Royal Mail. Under this working paradigm, why should the Royal Mail be excluded from consideration?

It seems that, in the name of security, basic civil liberties are being eroded. Democratic freedoms become more and more restricted. Privacy is replaced by surveillance and monitoring. In the end, the terrorists win. In the process of protecting the democratic way of life, the imposed means of security destroys those freedoms.

Catherine Forsythe