A watchdog has been appointed to monitor the Government’s National Identity Register, the database which will contain personal details of UK citizens and form the basis for any future ID cards. The appointment of former civil servant Sir Joseph Pilling as the first Identity Commissioner was confirmed by the Home Office today. His duties will…
Category: Govt
Wiretapping saved lives
Controversial secret wiretapping activities launched by former President George Bush following 9/11 stirred understandable privacy concerns. But they also provided vital evidence for the arrest and recent conviction of three British Muslims in a plot to destroy at least seven and as many as 18 trans-Atlantic airliners in the summer of 2006. This case demonstrates…
Aides defend presidential powers in cybersecurity bill
Ben Bain reports: Senate aides familiar with proposed legislation that would define the president’s power to deal with a cybersecurity emergency say the bill wouldn’t give the government sweeping control over the country’s digital infrastructure as some critics have claimed. The controversy stems from language in a bill introduced in April by Sens. Jay Rockefeller…
Census Workers Sworn to Confidentiality—for Life
Erik Fowle of New America Media reports: As thousands of trained Census Bureau workers gear up to begin the 2010 census of the United States population, one thing makes their service unlike any other job. All census takers must take an oath that they will never reveal the information they collect as they knock on…