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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:27 pm Post subject: Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World 2007 |
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The Privacy & Human Rights Report examines privacy policies and practices in 70 countries. Produced annually since 1997, this is far and away the most comprehensive survey of this sort, running to 1,100 pages with over 6,000 footnotes.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/01/2007-international-privacy-ranking.html
Concern over immigration and border control dominated the world agenda in 2007. Countries have moved swiftly to implement database, identity and fingerprinting systems, often without regard to the privacy implications for their own citizens
The 2007 rankings show an increasing trend amongst governments to archive data on the geographic, communications and financial records of all their citizens and residents. This trend leads to the conclusion that all citizens, regardless of legal status, are under suspicion.
The privacy trends have been fueled by the emergence of a profitable surveillance industry dominated by global IT companies and the creation of numerous international treaties that frequently operate outside judicial or democratic processes.
Despite political shifts in the US Congress, surveillance initiatives in the US continue to expand, affecting visitors and citizens alike.
Surveillance initiatives initiated by Brussels have caused a substantial decline in privacy across Europe, eroding protections even in those countries that have shown a traditionally high regard for privacy.
The privacy performance of older democracies in Europe is generally failing, while the performance of newer democracies is becoming generally stronger.
The lowest ranking countries in the survey continue to be Malaysia, Russia and China. The highest-ranking countries in 2007 are Greece, Romania and Canada.
The 2006 leader, Germany, slipped significantly in the 2007 rankings, dropping from 1st to 7th place behind Portugal and Slovenia.
In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US is the worst ranking country in the democratic world. In terms of overall privacy protection the United States has performed very poorly, being out-ranked by both India and the Philippines and falling into the "black" category, denoting endemic surveillance.
The worst ranking EU country is the United Kingdom, which again fell into the "black" category along with Russia and Singapore. However for the first time Scotland has been given its own ranking score and performed significantly better than England & Wales.
Argentina scored higher than 18 of the 27 EU countries.
Australia ranks higher than Slovakia but lower than South Africa and New Zealand. |
http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-559597 |
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Beeyee
Joined: 29 May 2007
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:41 am Post subject: |
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This doesn't surprise me at all. But hey, if you don't have anything to hide what's the problem right?!  |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:49 am Post subject: |
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Humanity does seem to be running away from the idea of free societies.
From little things like smoking bans and seatbelt laws to big things like spoken/written hate (thought) crimes and talk about "anti-social behavior". The UK has thousands and thousands of cameras watching every move and in Canada the government is moving towards the regulation of newspaper editorials to ensure "sensitivity". Tobacco will eventually be banned (once only the poor and marginalized only use it) and diet regulated to ensure "healthy lifestyles".
Surveillance is one aspect of this. But there is a larger story of the general death of freedom. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:25 am Post subject: |
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| Beeyee wrote: |
This doesn't surprise me at all.
But hey, if you don't have anything to hide what's the problem right?! |
Wake up & smell the fascism  |
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Beeyee
Joined: 29 May 2007
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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| igotthisguitar wrote: |
| Beeyee wrote: |
This doesn't surprise me at all.
But hey, if you don't have anything to hide what's the problem right?! |
Wake up & smell the fascism |
I can smell it all right. I love being a slave of the New World Order. Now give me some mercury-laced vaccines god dammit! |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| Beeyee wrote: |
| igotthisguitar wrote: |
| Beeyee wrote: |
This doesn't surprise me at all.
But hey, if you don't have anything to hide what's the problem right?! |
Wake up & smell the fascism |
I can smell it all right. I love being a slave of the New World Order.
Now give me some mercury-laced vaccines god dammit! |
Mmmmmmmm ... yummy ... |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:58 am Post subject: |
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| thepeel wrote: |
Surveillance is one aspect of this. But there is a larger story of the general death of freedom. |
Freedom can be defined in so many ways. Surveillance in public places is not per se an infringement on freedoms. |
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zai
Joined: 07 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:23 am Post subject: |
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| thepeel wrote: |
Humanity does seem to be running away from the idea of free societies.
From little things like smoking bans and seatbelt laws to big things like spoken/written hate (thought) crimes and talk about "anti-social behavior". The UK has thousands and thousands of cameras watching every move and in Canada the government is moving towards the regulation of newspaper editorials to ensure "sensitivity". Tobacco will eventually be banned (once only the poor and marginalized only use it) and diet regulated to ensure "healthy lifestyles".
Surveillance is one aspect of this. But there is a larger story of the general death of freedom. |
Heh seatbelt laws, I say down with them. If you don't think they'll protect you, then don't wear one. Evolution should take care of the rest. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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| It would appear from the map that Greece is the poster child of human rights. The Greeks I know say it must be the result of an incompetent government. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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Why is South Korea (and even North Korea!) listed as grey? the same as Guatemala, Tanzania and Greenland?
This country is one of the most wired in the world and seems out of place listed as grey, off the chart in the way of third world countries and Greenland. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| zai wrote: |
| thepeel wrote: |
Humanity does seem to be running away from the idea of free societies.
From little things like smoking bans and seatbelt laws to big things like spoken/written hate (thought) crimes and talk about "anti-social behavior". The UK has thousands and thousands of cameras watching every move and in Canada the government is moving towards the regulation of newspaper editorials to ensure "sensitivity". Tobacco will eventually be banned (once only the poor and marginalized only use it) and diet regulated to ensure "healthy lifestyles".
Surveillance is one aspect of this. But there is a larger story of the general death of freedom. |
Heh seatbelt laws, I say down with them. If you don't think they'll protect you, then don't wear one. Evolution should take care of the rest. |
Seatbelt laws are the perfect example. Here is an unessential freedom: the license to not wear a seatbelt while driving/riding a several thousand pound vehicle at speeds over a mile a minute.
Many states have decided that it is negligence per se to not wear a seatbelt while in a moving vehicle. That means that if person A sues person B for hitting his vehicle while person A was not wearing a seatbelt, person A's recovery is reduced. As it should be! Person A very likely exacerbated his injuries by not wearing a seatbelt, and it would be costly to have to prove that his injuries were exacerbated by not wearing a seatbelt. Therefore, the law was passed, to save the court's time.
And yes, if you refuse to wear a seatbelt, a cop can pull you over and fine you. Oh, the oppression! |
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