The government wants us to write to it again

[minervasolo]

It's that time again: time for the government to sneak privacy eroding clauses into long and complicated bills!*

Part 8 of the Coroners and Justice Bill basically wipes out the protection of the Data Protection Act in favour of making it easier for government officials to share private information. Because we all now how much they can be trusted.

I've basically rewritten apiphile's letter here. I've used WriteToThem to send a letter, since it's getting its second reading on Monday, and I'm not sure a paper letter would reach them on time. I have no great faith in my MP (he voted strongly for ID cards and Labour's anti-terrorism laws), but if he receives enough hopefully he'll feel obliged to say something, and a rolling ball is better than no ball at all.


Dear [my MP],

I'd like to bring your attention to Part 8 of the Coroners and Justice Bill (clauses 151 to 154), due its Second Reading in the Commons on Monday 26 January 2009. I am strongly opposed to its impact on the privacy of the people of this country.

These sweeping provisions of the "Information Sharing" clauses appear to brush aside the protections given to individuals by the Data Protection Act (and others) so that government officials may share data more easily. Clauses 151 to 154 of the proposed bill would, to the best of my understanding, permit data trafficking between government agencies and private companies - and even with foreign governments. I cannot see how this is necessary or safe for the privacy of British individuals.

The government's track record with keeping private data secure has been very poor, to the extent that even Gordon Brown has been quoted as saying: “we cannot promise that every single item of information will always be safe because mistakes are made by human beings” (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5065795.ece). The information sharing clauses allows private information to be shared more easily and amongst more people, increasing the risk of it being lost or disseminated amongst undesirable recipients.

Please ensure that these information sharing clauses receive proper scrutiny in Parliament. These clauses affect the safety of personal information for every single one of your constituents.

Yours sincerely,

[me]

Feel free to crib, but change enough so it's clear it's not just an email spam mission. Find out who your MP is (and what they're voting record is like) at TheyWorkForYou. If you also think the DPA is important, and the govt is a bit too shit at data security to go sharing thigns even more, then send your MP something too.


*Last time, it was democracy eroding clauses.

Comments

[87-degrees.livejournal.com]

I've sent my letter. It's changed a bit and to a different MP, so I doubt I'll be accused of spam.