WRITTEN ON October 29th, 2005 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Data nitwittery

UK Data Protection law is 21 years old this year. The Information Commissioner is holding a special international conference in Manchester on 29 November 2005 to look at the future.

Ideal Government is delighted to have been asked to help the Information Commissioner in the role of an independent critical forum about where this is headed and why it’s important. That gives us 2-3 weeks to explore why we need data protection and what technology will be like in 21 years’ time. This will be used as input to a Kable report being written by David Burke for the ICO, to present at its 29 November conference. So we welcome David as a new Ideal Government author.

This raises a host of meaty questions – see extended text for some initial examples. We need to get stuck into these like a shoal of pirhanas. Any contributions will be put in front of the ICO and credited. But it’s up to David what he uses in his final narrative.

Can we apply the Ideal Government rules of engagement? This means any doom & gloom scenario has to be balanced by a WIBBI: wouldn’t it be better if…It’s one thing to point to the increasing evidence of risks of living in a poorly managed or intrusive information environment. It’s a huge challenge to express in positive terms the benefits of living in a well-managed one that respects people’s integrity, rights and privacy.

But we believe the benefits are there as well as the risks. WIBBI we had more accountable politics, more consumer power in our dealings with business, and an information age that respects human dignity. So that’s the story we’re trying to tell. Very glad of any help, case studies (real or imagined is fine), comments, or forwarding of this to any interested parties.

Can personal-information law enforcement keep up with new technology? How can it affect medical care, genetics & insurance, education and childrens’ rights. Will we tag and track our children to avoid truancy, and iris scan them for morning roll-call? Is a comprehensive DNA database inevitable, and if so how would we want to see it used? Can we manage our health and criminal records, or will everything leak to the press or to people trying to manipulate us? How much information will the police routinely have about us, and will that make us feel safer or sullen, resentful or fearful? Will domestic CCTV put an end to nuisance crimes and even domestic violence? Or will we be proud to live, smoke drugs and let off fireworks in CCTV-free zones? How will our money work, and will it still be anonymous? Are these just the begining, or a series of dead ends: Oyster cards, Tesco and Nectar loyalty cards; payment by fingerprint; RFID tagging of consumer goods.