For some reason I got email notification that Phil Bradley's toilet had exploded. The vaguiaries of social media algorithms are a mystery to us all, and why they had decided that I needed to know this, rather than any of his earlier, more professionally related blog posts, seems strange, however I was glad of the reminder that whatever Phil Bradley has to say on his blog is always interesting and worth a look.
Thus it was that I came to read his post, earlier this month, concerning the Investigatory Powers bill. In this post Phil mentions some ways of maintaining online anonymity using TOR, and he discusses librarians' roles and duties when it comes to this topic.
In a world that increasingly seems to resemble that depicted in George Orwell's 1984, a world where it is in the Superpower's interests that we must always be at war, and where this is used as a justification for a surveillance society, those in government has decided to increase their power to snoop.
My daughter asked me yesterday why this bothered some people. Surely the innocent have nothing to hide, she said. However, there are lots of good people who do have things to hide who would be affected by this bill and who would be open to co-ersion. Once you hand over rights to someone else to know all about you they use those rights for stupid reasons that were never intended. Remember the family whose daughter lived outside the catchment area for a school, and Dorset Council used anti-terror laws to prove it? You can read here why a surveillance society is not a good idea. Even if we do live under a fairly benign regime at the moment who is to say who will take their place in future? Do you really want anyone to see all the personal stuff on your computer?
Of course I have always known that there are ways to encrypt your computer, and I knew that the CIA had inserted weaknesses into some encryption programs. I often wonder about encrypted search engines and whether I should use one. Probably I should. I often wonder if, one day, for some reason, everyone will suddenly switch search engines to one that is encrypted, and stop using Windows and use something else that is more private. I can see that day coming. I do appreciate the need to be protected but sometimes I think we need to be protected from the protectors.
Thus it was that I came to read his post, earlier this month, concerning the Investigatory Powers bill. In this post Phil mentions some ways of maintaining online anonymity using TOR, and he discusses librarians' roles and duties when it comes to this topic.
In a world that increasingly seems to resemble that depicted in George Orwell's 1984, a world where it is in the Superpower's interests that we must always be at war, and where this is used as a justification for a surveillance society, those in government has decided to increase their power to snoop.
My daughter asked me yesterday why this bothered some people. Surely the innocent have nothing to hide, she said. However, there are lots of good people who do have things to hide who would be affected by this bill and who would be open to co-ersion. Once you hand over rights to someone else to know all about you they use those rights for stupid reasons that were never intended. Remember the family whose daughter lived outside the catchment area for a school, and Dorset Council used anti-terror laws to prove it? You can read here why a surveillance society is not a good idea. Even if we do live under a fairly benign regime at the moment who is to say who will take their place in future? Do you really want anyone to see all the personal stuff on your computer?
Of course I have always known that there are ways to encrypt your computer, and I knew that the CIA had inserted weaknesses into some encryption programs. I often wonder about encrypted search engines and whether I should use one. Probably I should. I often wonder if, one day, for some reason, everyone will suddenly switch search engines to one that is encrypted, and stop using Windows and use something else that is more private. I can see that day coming. I do appreciate the need to be protected but sometimes I think we need to be protected from the protectors.
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