Clause 152 (original) (raw)
footpad 😡frustrated
March 7 2009, 14:58
Dear British ljFriends,
If you already know what Clause 152 is then you probably don't need to pay attention to this.
Otherwise, please read this.
Then write a letter to your MP. If you don't know who your MP is, type your postcode in here. Say what you feel appropriate (as long as it's polite, constructive and very to the point) but, at a minimum, say this:
Dear (them),
I refuse consent for my personal information to be shared in any information-sharing order made under Clause 152 of the Coroners and Justice Bill currently before Parliament.
Yours faithfully,
(you)
Finally, put it in an envelope and send it to your MP at
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA.
If you can't send it by post for some reason, send it to them via writetothem.org. But a paper letter is better.
Thank you.
Love,
me.
Yes, I did write my own letter:
Dear Mr Taylor,
As your constituent, I request that you strongly resist Clause 152 of the current Coroners and Justice Bill. This clause neglects lacks essential oversight and accountability, and thereby poses a significant future threat to the stability and inherent freedoms of British society.
Until I consider that the matter is resolved, I categorically refuse to consent to any sharing of my personal information by any information-sharing order made under Clause 152.
The Government's intentions are presumably honourable, and with current technology the legislation might even be defensible. Unfortunately the Government shows no sign of understanding how the impact of its legislation will be affected by technological developments. Computing professionals have a common rule of thumb that available information-processing capacity doubles every eighteen months, and storage capacity every twelve. The consequence is an almost inconceivable acceleration of the extent to which personal information can be gathered, analysed, and searched for patterns that may be deemed interesting or undesirable.
Clause 152 therefore confers onto Ministers, not a constant and qualifiable ability, but a power that will redouble in unpredictable ways as successive governments harness ever more powerful technologies. The potential civic benefits are immense but, in the absence of properly-structured accountability and robust judicial oversight, so is the potential for abuse and social harm. Jack Straw has dismally failed to appreciate this. I enjoin you to help rein in his legislation until this deficiency is addressed.
I would be both glad and honoured to help if I can advise or inform you in any way on this or related matters.
Yours sincerely,
(wolf)
What I should actually say is, "Do you want Jackie Smith interning you under terrorism legislation because your emails to your niece have a similar statistical fingerprint to those of a suspected paedophile in Strathclyde?" but I'm not going to rewrite it now.