[Linux-aus] Seeking feedback - EFA Citizens Not Suspects campaign

[David Lyon]

On 13.06.2013 23:47, Russell Coker wrote:

>> Metadata tagging won't catch criminals. They already know not to use
>> mobile phones.
>
> I think it's best to stick to realistic claims when opposing such 
> things.
>
> It's well documented that people who want to buy drugs would like to
> use their
> phone to do so, apparently drug orders by SMS aren't that uncommon.
>

Illegal drugs dealing is just one type of organised crime. There are
many others, and none of my examples were unrealistic.

For example, white-collar crime now well exceeds bank robberies by
volume. Overseas indicators show that installing security camera's in
one place only moves the crime along to where the camera's aren't.

Such camera's and the networks are often powered by open-source systems
and worked on by very likeable people (like us!! ).

My understanding of metadata-retention, is that if you record where
people are all the time (by logging their gps in their android (linux)
phones) police can put them at the location of crimes if they ever
want to look.

However, I've seen this used in reverse. In that even when the evidence
completely clears a person, police still continue to build a case 
against
the person and the misery only stops when the case is thrown out by the
judge as being totally preposterous.

The bigger picture is that violent crimes are generally on the decrease
and they are the ones that tend to hurt people the most.

So none of these are unrealistic claims. They are things that have 
happened
and are happening. The only thing that's not happening is really any
public consultation before the event as to whether they should be
adopted. That's very lacking and 'surprise tacticts' are usually what's
used to get any system through. So it show's you that behind all these
'advances' there are some pretty well ironed out strategies.