In Europe, we have 2006/24/EG (pdf) which regulates that all providers have to save, for one year, all data to do with with whom you call on your phone, where your mobile phone is and when you log in on the internet. Now, the EU -undemocratic body that it is- has adopted a resolution to add to this list: the search terms you use in Google.
This is so unbelievably invasive! I'm not one of the "I have nothing to hide so they can look all they like" crowd. No, I don't think I have anything terrible to hide but this is MY life and MY privacy and nobody should have the right to invade my head like that. I think this is a shocking development. Governments are not allowed to follow you and listen over your shoulder as you talk to people you meet, recording every word, noting down names etc. and yet this is exactly what is happening here!!!
If you don't like the idea of this happening, there are two things you can do.
1. Google httpS ://www.google.com instead of http://www.google.com, to encrypt your searches (I'm not sure this will help, according to some people the search engines themselves will be required to save the search terms. In that case, encryption won't help).
2. Use the Firefox browser, and install this plugin, to fill Google up with random search terms.
All this brought to you in the relentless pursuit of child pornographers... a most convenient post to hang your hat on.
More about this at bits of freedom (in Dutch).
Required reading: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (free download). This rousing story (the ending is perhaps naive), paints a world we could expect if we go on this way - is this really the world we want?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment