[Marxism] ID cards and Mass Surveillance in UK

["Calvin Broadbent" <calvinbroadbent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article306577.ece

ID cards could be used for mass surveillance system

By Marie Woolf, Chief Political Correspondent
Published: 18 August 2005

The Government is creating a system of "mass public surveillance" capable of
tracking every adult in Britain without their consent, MPs say. They warn
that people who have never committed a crime can be "electronically
monitored" without their knowledge.

Biometric facial scans, which will be compulsory with ID cards, are to be
put on a national database which can then be matched with images from CCTV.
The database of faces will enable police and security services to track
individuals regardless of whether they have broken the law.

CCTV surveillance footage from streets, shops and even shopping centres
could be cross-referenced with photographs of every adult in the UK once the
ID cards Bill becomes law. Biometric facial scans, iris scans and
fingerprints of all adults in the UK will be stored on a national database.
Civil liberties groups say the plans are a "dangerous" threat to people's
privacy.

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said the plans were
being brought in by the Government without informing the public. "A new
system capable of mass public surveillance is being created with no public
debate. The arrival of CCTV cameras which can recognise you and track you
without your knowledge means we are stepping into an unknown future," he
said.

The monitoring will be possible using the country's four million CCTV
cameras - more than any country in the world. Images could be swiftly
cross-referenced with the database.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has said that the "facial images
national database should be operational by December 2006".

The technology is already used by the police to check for offenders, and for
football hooligans. Casinos use it to spot VIPs and to check for gamblers
they have barred.

The Home Office said the police would only check a person against the
National Identity Register to investigate a specific crime. "The police may
request information from the National Identity Register without an
individual's consent [or knowledge] if it is necessary for the prevention of
further offences or establishing who committed the crime they are
investigating," said a spokeswoman. "An internal authorisation process would
operate ... so that only officers of a specified rank could apply for
information."

The Government is creating a system of "mass public surveillance" capable of
tracking every adult in Britain without their consent, MPs say. They warn
that people who have never committed a crime can be "electronically
monitored" without their knowledge.

Biometric facial scans, which will be compulsory with ID cards, are to be
put on a national database which can then be matched with images from CCTV.
The database of faces will enable police and security services to track
individuals regardless of whether they have broken the law.

CCTV surveillance footage from streets, shops and even shopping centres
could be cross-referenced with photographs of every adult in the UK once the
ID cards Bill becomes law. Biometric facial scans, iris scans and
fingerprints of all adults in the UK will be stored on a national database.
Civil liberties groups say the plans are a "dangerous" threat to people's
privacy.

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said the plans were
being brought in by the Government without informing the public. "A new
system capable of mass public surveillance is being created with no public
debate. The arrival of CCTV cameras which can recognise you and track you
without your knowledge means we are stepping into an unknown future," he
said.

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