Quote:
Originally Posted by Kursk
We're kind of aiming at a peripheral target here and it might be an idea to give officialdom room to 'manoeuvre'. Technology moves at a pace and it is unlikely that anyone can keep abreast of all of the change all of the time. They are getting up to speed and it might serve us better to get them onside; we need allies not enemies.
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I think to really understand how we can do this, it would be useful if we could establish who in the Home Office thought Webwise/Phorm was a good idea, why they thought that and why they still think that. Because that's what appears to be behind the continuing threat that Phorm (or a similar technology) might be deployed in the UK. After all, in the US where Congress has sent a clear message, Charter has shelved plans to deploy Nebuad.
So was it a politician or a civil servant? And if so, who? My bet is that it was a civil servant, and that the politicians are just following along.
Did they think Webwise/Phorm was a good idea because they viewed the Internet as a toy rather than a serious conduit of information and commerce?
Or were they genuinely so perplexed by IT that they were unable to understand such basic concepts as the fact that risks to your privacy can only rise if your data is intercepted?
Maybe like some recent and current holders of the highest offices of state their experience of computers was very limited?
I leave these thoughts with you as you leaf through the Freedom of Information response before you turn the lights out. If you do come across anything which points to an individual with an argument that Webwise/Phorm mightn't be such a bad idea I'm sure you'll let us all know.