Freedom and the internet
Over the past twenty years, countless policies and legal decisions have sparked debate about online privacy. From the emergence of piracy and ultimately the Digital Economy Act, GCHQ’s “Internet Modernisation Programme” or the growth of companies like Google, there have been many flash points that have sparked protest and condemnation.
The recent Parliamentary scrutiny of Google’s Street View (and associated data collection) led by Robert Halfon MP highlighted the slow rise of the issue of online ‘rights’ up the political agenda, but the Westminster Hall debate also illustrated the fragmented campaigns currently being fought.
While there are individual groups who have focused on specific points, there is a lack of any concrete proposal to address the underlying concerns across the myriad spectrum of challenges.
Robert Halfon has mooted an ‘Internet Bill of Rights’, highlighting the topical example of Google Street View as a reason for action. However, I would go further – the objective should be no less fundamental than a digital Magna Carta, protecting citizens from the state, business and each other.
From the very basic level of setting terms for who owns personal data and legislating for a citizens power to reclaim their data, to the high-level issues around deep packet inspection of suspected threats to security, we need a framework in place and now is the time to mobilise.
From controlling when, how and why our data is collected to protecting the presumption of innocence, all too often abandoned when technology offers instantaneous action, the emergence of the digital society must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the state and a few large corporate providers.
Lord Denning described Magna Carta as "the greatest constitutional document of all times - the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot".
It is time to set the foundation of digital freedom and protect our rights online – or we risk loosing them forever.
By Nick Pickles.
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