Richard's Kingdom

First they came for the child abuse images, but I did not speak out, because I am not a vile criminal. Next they neutered newzbin2, yet I said nothing, because usenet is for dweebs. Presently they prohibited the Pirate Bay, and I did not protest, because I’m not a fan of TV or film. When [...]

Europe wants to monitor what you search for on the Internet. Under the misleading guise of protecting children against sexual abuse (sigh) Written Declaration 29 calls for the Data Retention Directive to be extended to cover search engines. This would force national Governments to record everything you type into Google, Bing, Yahoo! et al and [...]

The new Conservative-Liberal coalition Government today announced it intends to pass a “Freedom” or “Great Repeal” Act. This will: Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database. Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission. Extend the scope of the Freedom of [...]

Over the last two parliaments the British state has grown ever more authoritarian. Personal liberty has been sacrificed on the altar of public opinion for political ends. The false dichotomy of privacy versus security has been used repeatedly to justify robbing us of the former while failing to deliver the latter. Billions of pounds have [...]

Jacquie Smith is to step down as Secretary of State for the Home Department in the cabinet reshuffle that Gordon Brown is planning to make after the European elections on Thursday. While the door to the Home Secretary’s office has revolved ever more rapidly since 2001 the authoritarian brief of its occupants has hardly wavered. [...]