Richard's Kingdom

Last year I wrote about the ineffectiveness of mass CCTV surveillance and suggested that we should fix the broken way in which CCTV is used in the UK. Now a report funded by the Home Office has reached the same conclusion. It turns out that CCTV has almost no impact on crime. Except in car [...]

I’m disgusted by the Government’s new DNA database proposals being laid out as a “consultation” today. Jacqui Smith’s transparent attempts at spin are risible. So is any claim by this Government that it values freedom, civil liberties or the presumption of innocence. SIX TO TWELVE YEARS. That’s the length of time Smith wants to keep [...]

Yesterday I travelled to London to hear Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross talk about resisting the all-seeing eye of the state, private business, and nosy individuals. The event promised to discuss practical measures to protect privacy: With the rise of the database state and firms profiting from user-profiling, it’s vital to resist surveillance and ensure [...]

The main purpose of the CCTV panopticon this country has become is not to prevent crime, nor to detect it, nor to prosecute it after the fact, but simply to keep an eye on people. This Guardian report on an underground spy centre in London must surely dispel the doubts of any remaining believers to [...]

Facebook caused a stir earlier this week by unilaterally changing their terms of service in a way lots of people didn’t like. On Wednesday they bowed to the pressure