If anyone had any vague ideas that what they do online is private then the recently released figures from Google should dispel that myth.
Google has released figures based on the following –
“Requests from government agencies around the world to remove content from our services, or provide information about users of our services and product”
It’s probably no great surprise to find a country with the most CCTV cameras per head in the world, appearing right at the top of the list.
That’s right the UK makes more requests for information on what it’s citizens are doing online than any other major democracy.
The figures show that in the last six months of 2009, Google received 1166 requests for information on what we do online. These requests will be from Government departments, Intelligence agencies and other officials.
The popular blog – Anonymous Surfing has loads of tips, stories and information on various privacy issues online. These are issues that affect everyone who uses the internet, the issue of privacy is an important social question.
The reasons you may wish to surf anonymously are wide and varied, often depending on your location. Bloggers and journalists in many countries have to stay anonymous simply to protect their liberty. As we speak thousands of people are in jails simply because they voiced an opinion online.
In Europe we face increasing legislation designed to further curtail our privacy, making it easier for Governments to monitor exactly everything we do online.
The justification is nearly always about catching criminals, but is it a price we should pay?
Whatever your views on protecting your privacy, you’ll find the latest news and information on all things to do with anonymous surfing and internet filtering on this blog. There’s an interesting piece on the how the Thailand government manipulates internet access to control it’s population here – http://www.anonymous-proxies.org/2010/05/internet-filtering-gets-worse-in.html . A tactic that seems to have been ineffective in the light of the current unrest in Bangkok.