Privacy erosion - Data accessis disturbing for citizens

IN AN era when snooping on a person’s private space is soaring, it is unsurprising the number of cases investigated by the Data Protection Commissioner has more than doubled.

The lack of control over how such information is used is especially disturbing. The commission rightly contends that the gradual erosion of privacy underlines the need to give people control over the disclosure of information. Illustrating the sheer scale of the problem, 658 separate investigations were conducted last year compared with 300 in 2005.

Under new data retention legislation, aimed at exposing criminals, every phone call and text message is logged and stored for three years. Admittedly, security is important but that hardly explains why gardaí made 10,000 requests for access to the private telephone records of citizens last year. Why?

This scenario raises the Orwellian spectre of citizens being exposed to prying eyes and ears of Big Brother.