Government database
Encyclopedia
Government databases collect personal information for various reasons (mass surveillance
, Schengen Information System
in the European Union
, social security
, statistics
, etc.).
of the European Union
passed the Data Retention Directive on 2005-12-15. It requires telecommunication operators to implement mass surveillance of the general public through retention of metadata on telecommunications and to keep the collected data at the disposal of various governmental bodies for substantially long times. Access to this information is not required to be limited to investigation of serious crimes, nor is a warrant required for access.
, the Gestapo
arrested activists of the Communist Party of Belgium
(Julien Lahaut
, Jean Terfve...) with the assistance of Belgian governmental databases.
Today, 450 000 persons have had their fingerprint
s taken.
, established in 1968, contains information concerning the name, address, Danish personal identification number
, date and place of birth, citizenship and other associated information. Virtually every government agency in Denmark
receives information about a person from this database.
, the Third Republic
had put in place the Carnet B on which all left-wing activists (trade-unionists, anarchists, socialists, etc.) were registered. Léon Jouhaux
or Victor Pengam were on that list. They were to be arrested in the event of a war, as the government feared that the left-wing would oppose itself to the war. However, after Jean Jaurès
's assassination a few days before the war and the rallying of most of the left-wing to the Union sacrée (Sacred Union) government, the Carnet B was not used to detain individuals.
In the interwar period
, police officer André Tulard
set up a database registering communists
and others activists. The "Tulard database" was then used under Vichy
to register Jews. These files were handed out to Theodor Dannecker
of the Gestapo
, and greatly assisted the French police in carrying out raids against Jews, who were then interned at Drancy camp
before being deported to concentration camps
in Nazi Germany
.
Furthermore, during the war, René Carmille
created what would become the INSEE code
used as a Social Security number
. The CNIL
agency, in charge of respect of civil rights and informatic liberties, was created after the revelation, in 1974, of a government databases called SAFARI
. Databases are supposed to have the CNIL's approbation before being authorized.
In 1995 the STIC (Système de traitement des infractions constatées) was unformally created. It registered both criminal offenders and plaintiffs. In January 1997 it registered 2,5 million offenders and 2,7 million victims. The STIC was legalized only in 2001. The Gendarmerie
, which depends of the Interior Minister, has a similar database called JUDEX
(2,2 millions persons in 2003. The STIC today registers 24,4 millions persons, and the maximum conservation length of information is of 40 years. It has lifted several controversies, as some people have not been able to find jobs because they were registered on the STIC (sometimes wrongly, others simply as victims). In 2005 the CNIL
discovered a rate of 47% of errors included in the STIC database.
In 1998 the FNAEG, registering DNA
information, was created by the Plural Left government of Lionel Jospin
, with the authorization of the CNIL
organism in charge of informatic freedom issues. First used to register sex offender
s, it has since been extended to cover almost any crime, including those opposing themselves through civil disobedience
to genetically modified food
(GMO). The FNAEG today registers 400,000 genetic prints, and encounters rising opposition.
In 2004 the Fichier judiciaire automatisé des auteurs d'infractions sexuelles, dependent of the Justice Minister, has been created to register sex offenders.
The same year, the National Assembly voted the loi pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique to implement the Electronic Commerce EU directive
. This law will force all Internet Service Provider
s (ISP), phone operators, webmasters, etc., to keep information on visitors (codewords, VISA cards numbers, pseudonyms, contributions on forums and blogs, etc.) for at least a year (and up to three years). The information would be accessible for the RG
domestic intelligence agency, counter-intelligence agencies, the judicial police
(PJ) and investigative magistrates.
Since September 2005, twenty one Departments are experimenting the Base-élèves (Students-Base) system, which registers children aged 3 and more. It registers for the time being address, phone numbers, nationalities, etc.
In 2006, the then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
created the ELOI database to register foreigners and illegal aliens. But the Conseil d'État deemed the arrêté (close to a decree
) illegal.
The CNIL
controlled police computer records in 2006, and found more than a half of mistakes which it had to correct.
Sarkozy's government issued a decree
on 7 August 2007 to generalize a voluntary biometric profiling program of travellers in airports. The program, called Parafes, was to use fingerprints. The new database would be interconnected with the Schengen Information System
(SIS) as well as with a national database of wanted persons (FPR
). The CNIL protested against this new decree, opposing itself to the recording of fingerprints and to the interconnection between the SIS and the FPR.
In autumn 2009, the French Parliament will examine and vote (very probably) a law called Loppsi which permit the creation of a informatic platform connecting all the Government database
s.
collected information on thousands of citizens. In West Germany
, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz domestic intelligence agency has also collected data since the 1970s, first in the frame of anti-terrorist legislation and the struggle against the Baader Group
. 80% of the individuals registered by the RFA belong to the left or the far-left, 10% to the far-right and 10% are registered as "undesirables".
in 1989 revealed that over 900,000 people had been registered by the Bundespolizei
. With a population of approximately 7 million, that meant almost one citizen out of every seven had been put under surveillance
DNA
databases were created in 2002 by the National Council
.
s and over 3.4 million DNA
samples on the National DNA Database
. There is increasing use of roadside fingerprinting - using new police powers to check identity. Concerns have been raised over the unregulated use of biometrics in schools
, affecting children as young as three.
In London
, the Oyster card
payment system http://www.oystercard.com/ can track the movement of individual people through the public transport
system, although an anonymous option is available, while the London congestion charge
uses computer imaging
to track car number plates
.
In 2002 the UK government announced plans to extend the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, so that at least 28 government departments would be given powers to browse citizens' web, email, telephone and fax records, without a warrant and without a subject's knowledge. Public and security authorities made a total of 440,000 requests to monitor people's phone and internet use in 2005-2006.
In 2004 the Information Commissioner, talking about the proposed British national identity database
gave a warning of this, stating, "My anxiety is that we don't sleepwalk into a surveillance society." Other database
s causing him concern are the National Child Database, the Office for National Statistics'
Citizen Information Project
, and the NHS
National Programme for IT.
it was estimated http://www.urbaneye.net/results/ue_wp6.pdf that the United Kingdom was monitored by over four million CCTV cameras
, some with a facial recognition
capacity, with practically all town centres under surveillance. Serious concerns have been raised that the facial biometric information which will be stored on a central database
through the ID Card scheme could be linked to facial recognition system
s and state-owned CCTV cameras to identify individuals anywhere in the UK, or even to compile a database of wanted citizens' movements without their knowledge or consent. Currently, in the City of Westminster
, microphone
s are being fitted next to CCTV cameras. Westminster council claims that they are simply part of an initiative against urban noise, and will not "be used to snoop", but comments from a council spokesman appear to imply that they have been deliberately designed to capture an audio stream alongside the video stream, rather than simply reporting noise levels. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/04/nmic04.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/04/ixhome.html
Across the country efforts are underway to increasingly closely track all road vehicle movements, initially using a nationwide network of roadside cameras connected to automatic number plate recognition
systems ("Project Laser"). In the longer term mandatory onboard vehicle telematics
systems are also suggested, to facilitate road charging (see vehicle excise duty
).
In 2008 plans were being made to collect data on people's phone, e-mail and web-browsing habits and were expected to be included in the Communications Data Bill
. The "giant database" would include telephone numbers dialed, the websites visited and addresses to which e-mails are sent "but not the content of e-mails or telephone conversations."
(and SORM-2) laws enable complete monitoring of any communication, electronic or traditional, by eight state agencies, without warrant.
Mass surveillance
Mass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
, Schengen Information System
Schengen Information System
The Schengen Information System , is a governmental database used by European countries to maintain and distribute information on individuals and pieces of property of interest. The intended uses of this system are for national security, border control and law enforcement purposes...
in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
, statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, etc.).
Canada
The Homeless Individuals and Families Information System was created in 1995. The Government Electronic Directory Services (GEDS) provide a directory of Canadian federal public servants for all regions across Canada.European Union
The legislative bodyEuropean Union legislative procedure
The legislatureof the European Union is principally composed of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Competencies in scrutinising and amending legislation are usually divided equally between the two, while the power to initiate laws is held by the European Commission...
of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
passed the Data Retention Directive on 2005-12-15. It requires telecommunication operators to implement mass surveillance of the general public through retention of metadata on telecommunications and to keep the collected data at the disposal of various governmental bodies for substantially long times. Access to this information is not required to be limited to investigation of serious crimes, nor is a warrant required for access.
Belgium
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
arrested activists of the Communist Party of Belgium
Communist Party of Belgium
Communist Party of Belgium was a political party in Belgium. The youth wing of KPB/PCB was known as the Communist Youth of Belgium. The party published Le Drapeau Rouge in French and De Roode Vaan in Dutch.- History :It was formed at a congress in Anderlecht on September 3-4 1921...
(Julien Lahaut
Julien Lahaut
Julien Lahaut Julien Lahaut Julien Lahaut (6 September 1884, Seraing, near Liège, Belgium - 18 August 1950, (Seraing) was a Belgian politician, who died by assassination.-Political background:...
, Jean Terfve...) with the assistance of Belgian governmental databases.
Today, 450 000 persons have had their fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s taken.
Denmark
The Det Centrale PersonregisterDet Centrale Personregister
Det Centrale Personregister , short CPR is a Danish nationwide centralised register of personal information.Established in 1968, the register contains information concerning the name, address, Danish personal identification number, date and place of birth, citizenship and other associated information...
, established in 1968, contains information concerning the name, address, Danish personal identification number
Personal identification number (Denmark)
The Danish Personal Identification number is a national identification number, which is part of the personal information stored in the Civil Registration System ....
, date and place of birth, citizenship and other associated information. Virtually every government agency in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
receives information about a person from this database.
France
King Louis XIV had put in place a system of surveillance of craftsmen in the 17th century. Napoleon then put in place the "Workers' Booklet" (Livret ouvrier) without which a worker could not travel. Before World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
had put in place the Carnet B on which all left-wing activists (trade-unionists, anarchists, socialists, etc.) were registered. Léon Jouhaux
Léon Jouhaux
Léon Jouhaux was a French trade union leader who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1951.Jouhaux's father worked in a match factory in Aubervilliers. His secondary schooling ended when his father's earnings were stopped by a strike. He gained employment at the factory at age sixteen and immediately...
or Victor Pengam were on that list. They were to be arrested in the event of a war, as the government feared that the left-wing would oppose itself to the war. However, after Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
's assassination a few days before the war and the rallying of most of the left-wing to the Union sacrée (Sacred Union) government, the Carnet B was not used to detain individuals.
In the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, police officer André Tulard
André Tulard
André Tulard was a French civil administrator and police inspector. He is known for having created the "Tulard files," which censused Jewish people during Vichy...
set up a database registering communists
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
and others activists. The "Tulard database" was then used under Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
to register Jews. These files were handed out to Theodor Dannecker
Theodor Dannecker
Theodor Dannecker was an SS Hauptsturmführer and one of Adolf Eichmann's associates....
of the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, and greatly assisted the French police in carrying out raids against Jews, who were then interned at Drancy camp
Drancy internment camp
The Drancy internment camp of Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. 65,000 Jews were deported from Drancy, of whom 63,000 were murdered including 6,000 children...
before being deported to concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Furthermore, during the war, René Carmille
René Carmille
René Carmille was a punched card expert and comptroller general of the French Army in the early 20th century. In World War II he was a double agent for the French Resistance and part of the Marco Polo Network. He ran the Demographics Department of Vichy and later the National Statistics Service...
created what would become the INSEE code
INSEE code
The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies to identify various entities, including communes, départements...
used as a Social Security number
Social Security number
In the United States, a Social Security number is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents under section 205 of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent...
. The CNIL
CNIL
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés or CNIL is an independent French administrative authority whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Its existence was established by French , concerning computers,...
agency, in charge of respect of civil rights and informatic liberties, was created after the revelation, in 1974, of a government databases called SAFARI
SAFARI
SAFARI was an attempt by the French government, under the presidency of Georges Pompidou, to create a centralized database of personal data. The database was supposed to interconnect data, in particular through the use of the INSEE code .On March 21, 1974 an article in the newspaper Le Monde...
. Databases are supposed to have the CNIL's approbation before being authorized.
In 1995 the STIC (Système de traitement des infractions constatées) was unformally created. It registered both criminal offenders and plaintiffs. In January 1997 it registered 2,5 million offenders and 2,7 million victims. The STIC was legalized only in 2001. The Gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
, which depends of the Interior Minister, has a similar database called JUDEX
Judex
Judex is the title of a 1916 silent French movie serial concerning the adventures of Judex who is a pulp hero, similar to The Shadow, created by Louis Feuillade and Arthur Bernède.-Concept:...
(2,2 millions persons in 2003. The STIC today registers 24,4 millions persons, and the maximum conservation length of information is of 40 years. It has lifted several controversies, as some people have not been able to find jobs because they were registered on the STIC (sometimes wrongly, others simply as victims). In 2005 the CNIL
CNIL
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés or CNIL is an independent French administrative authority whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Its existence was established by French , concerning computers,...
discovered a rate of 47% of errors included in the STIC database.
In 1998 the FNAEG, registering DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
information, was created by the Plural Left government of Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
, with the authorization of the CNIL
CNIL
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés or CNIL is an independent French administrative authority whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Its existence was established by French , concerning computers,...
organism in charge of informatic freedom issues. First used to register sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
s, it has since been extended to cover almost any crime, including those opposing themselves through civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
to genetically modified food
Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
(GMO). The FNAEG today registers 400,000 genetic prints, and encounters rising opposition.
In 2004 the Fichier judiciaire automatisé des auteurs d'infractions sexuelles, dependent of the Justice Minister, has been created to register sex offenders.
The same year, the National Assembly voted the loi pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique to implement the Electronic Commerce EU directive
Electronic Commerce Directive
The EU Electronic Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market.-Overview:...
. This law will force all Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s (ISP), phone operators, webmasters, etc., to keep information on visitors (codewords, VISA cards numbers, pseudonyms, contributions on forums and blogs, etc.) for at least a year (and up to three years). The information would be accessible for the RG
Direction centrale des renseignements généraux
The Direction Centrale des Renseignements Généraux , often called Renseignements Généraux , was the intelligence service of the French police, answerable to the Direction Générale de la Police Nationale , and, ultimately, the Ministry of the Interior...
domestic intelligence agency, counter-intelligence agencies, the judicial police
French National Police
The National Police , formerly the Sûreté Nationale, is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military Gendarmerie, with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural...
(PJ) and investigative magistrates.
Since September 2005, twenty one Departments are experimenting the Base-élèves (Students-Base) system, which registers children aged 3 and more. It registers for the time being address, phone numbers, nationalities, etc.
In 2006, the then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
created the ELOI database to register foreigners and illegal aliens. But the Conseil d'État deemed the arrêté (close to a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
) illegal.
The CNIL
CNIL
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés or CNIL is an independent French administrative authority whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Its existence was established by French , concerning computers,...
controlled police computer records in 2006, and found more than a half of mistakes which it had to correct.
Sarkozy's government issued a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
on 7 August 2007 to generalize a voluntary biometric profiling program of travellers in airports. The program, called Parafes, was to use fingerprints. The new database would be interconnected with the Schengen Information System
Schengen Information System
The Schengen Information System , is a governmental database used by European countries to maintain and distribute information on individuals and pieces of property of interest. The intended uses of this system are for national security, border control and law enforcement purposes...
(SIS) as well as with a national database of wanted persons (FPR
FPR
FPR may refer to: Focal Point Review*False Positive Rate , measure of the specificity of a classifier.*Family Procedure Rules, a set of rules in English and Welsh family courts*Fatal Prodigy Resurrected, a Call of Duty 4 team...
). The CNIL protested against this new decree, opposing itself to the recording of fingerprints and to the interconnection between the SIS and the FPR.
In autumn 2009, the French Parliament will examine and vote (very probably) a law called Loppsi which permit the creation of a informatic platform connecting all the Government database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s.
Germany
The Stasi in East GermanyRDA
-Databases, information technology and computing:* Remote Database Access, a protocol standard for database access* Remote Diagnostic Agent, a diagnostic tool for Oracle database environments...
collected information on thousands of citizens. In West Germany
RFA
The abbreviation RFA could stand for:* Radio Free Asia* Radiofrequency ablation* Red Faction: Armageddon* Refractor 2 File Archive* Regional Facilitating Agency* Regional Forestry Agreement* Regulatory Flexibility Act* Renewable Fuels Agency...
, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz domestic intelligence agency has also collected data since the 1970s, first in the frame of anti-terrorist legislation and the struggle against the Baader Group
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
. 80% of the individuals registered by the RFA belong to the left or the far-left, 10% to the far-right and 10% are registered as "undesirables".
Switzerland
The Secret files scandalSecret files scandal
The Fichenaffäre or Secret Files Scandal shook public opinion in Switzerland in 1989. That year, it was revealed that the Swiss federal authorities, as well as the cantonal police forces, had put in place a system of mass surveillance of the population.- The scandal :Following allegations that...
in 1989 revealed that over 900,000 people had been registered by the Bundespolizei
Bundespolizei
Bundespolizei is German for Federal Police and may refer to:*Federal Police *Federal Police...
. With a population of approximately 7 million, that meant almost one citizen out of every seven had been put under surveillance
DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
databases were created in 2002 by the National Council
National Council of Switzerland
The National Council of Switzerland is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. With 200 seats, it is the larger of the two houses....
.
United Kingdom
The British Police hold records of 5.5 million fingerprintFingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s and over 3.4 million DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
samples on the National DNA Database
UK National DNA Database
The United Kingdom National DNA Database is a national DNA Database that was set up in 1995. As of the end of 2005, it carried the profiles of around 3.1 million people...
. There is increasing use of roadside fingerprinting - using new police powers to check identity. Concerns have been raised over the unregulated use of biometrics in schools
Biometrics in schools
Biometrics in schools have been used worldwide since the early first decade of the 21st century to address truancy, to replace library cards, or to charge for meals...
, affecting children as young as three.
In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Oyster card
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...
payment system http://www.oystercard.com/ can track the movement of individual people through the public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
system, although an anonymous option is available, while the London congestion charge
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
uses computer imaging
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
to track car number plates
British car number plates
Vehicle registration plates are the mandatory number plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle, and have existed in the United Kingdom since 1904...
.
In 2004 the Information Commissioner, talking about the proposed British national identity database
British national identity card
The Identity Cards Act 2006 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for National Identity Cards, a personal identification document and European Union travel document, linked to a database known as the National Identity Register .The introduction of the scheme was much...
gave a warning of this, stating, "My anxiety is that we don't sleepwalk into a surveillance society." Other database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s causing him concern are the National Child Database, the Office for National Statistics'
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
Citizen Information Project
Citizen Information Project
In the United Kingdom, the Citizen Information Project was a plan by the Office for National Statistics to build a national population register....
, and the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
National Programme for IT.
it was estimated http://www.urbaneye.net/results/ue_wp6.pdf that the United Kingdom was monitored by over four million CCTV cameras
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
, some with a facial recognition
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source...
capacity, with practically all town centres under surveillance. Serious concerns have been raised that the facial biometric information which will be stored on a central database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
through the ID Card scheme could be linked to facial recognition system
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source...
s and state-owned CCTV cameras to identify individuals anywhere in the UK, or even to compile a database of wanted citizens' movements without their knowledge or consent. Currently, in the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
s are being fitted next to CCTV cameras. Westminster council claims that they are simply part of an initiative against urban noise, and will not "be used to snoop", but comments from a council spokesman appear to imply that they have been deliberately designed to capture an audio stream alongside the video stream, rather than simply reporting noise levels. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/04/nmic04.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/04/ixhome.html
Across the country efforts are underway to increasingly closely track all road vehicle movements, initially using a nationwide network of roadside cameras connected to automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
systems ("Project Laser"). In the longer term mandatory onboard vehicle telematics
Telematics
Telematics typically is any integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT...
systems are also suggested, to facilitate road charging (see vehicle excise duty
Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle Excise Duty is a vehicle road use tax levied as an excise duty which must be paid for most types of vehicle which are to be used on the public roads in the United Kingdom...
).
In 2008 plans were being made to collect data on people's phone, e-mail and web-browsing habits and were expected to be included in the Communications Data Bill
Communications Data Bill
The Communications Data Bill includes plans in the United Kingdom to collect data on people's phone, e-mail and web-browsing habits for mass surveillance. The government database would include telephone numbers dialed, the websites visited and addresses to which e-mails are sent but not the text of...
. The "giant database" would include telephone numbers dialed, the websites visited and addresses to which e-mails are sent "but not the content of e-mails or telephone conversations."
Russia
The SORMSORM
SORM is a technical system for search and surveillance in the internet...
(and SORM-2) laws enable complete monitoring of any communication, electronic or traditional, by eight state agencies, without warrant.
United States
- In 2006 the existence of the NSA call databaseNSA call databaseThe United States' National Security Agency maintains a database containing hundreds of billions of records of telephone calls made by U.S...
was revealed. It is estimated that the database contains over 1.9 trillion call-detail recordCall detail recordA call detail record , also known as call data record, is a data record produced by a telephone exchange or other telecommunications equipment documenting the details of a phone call that passed through the facility or device...
s.
- Fusion centerFusion centerA fusion center is a terrorism prevention and response center, many of which were created under a joint project between the Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs between 2003 and 2007....
was started as a joint project between the Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs between 2003 and 2007.
- The United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
created, after the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, a controversial database, TALONTALON (database)TALON , is a database maintained by the United States Air Force after the September 11th terrorist attacks. It was authorised for creation in 2002 by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, in order to collect and evaluate information about possible threats to U.S. servicemembers and civilian...
included lists of anti-warAnti-warAn anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
groups and people who have attended anti-war rallies.
- In August 2007, the US Department of Defense announced that GuardianGuardian (database)The Guardian Threat Tracking System is a reporting system used by the FBI to track threats and other intelligence information. It was established to collect data on terrorist threats and suspicious incidents, at seaports and other locations, and to manage action on various threats and incidents...
, another database organized by the FBI, would take over data collection and reporting which was previously handled by the TalonTALON (database)TALON , is a database maintained by the United States Air Force after the September 11th terrorist attacks. It was authorised for creation in 2002 by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, in order to collect and evaluate information about possible threats to U.S. servicemembers and civilian...
database system.
- Operating between 1967 and 1973, over 5,925 foreigners and 1,690 organizations and US citizens were included on the Project MINARETProject MINARETProject MINARET was a sister project to Project SHAMROCK operated by the NSA, which, after intercepting electronic communications that contained the names of predesignated US citizens, passed them to other government law enforcement and intelligence organizations...
watch lists (among whom Malcolm XMalcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, Martin Luther King, etc.), a sister project to Project SHAMROCKProject SHAMROCKProject SHAMROCK, considered to be the sister project for Project MINARET, was an espionage exercise that involved the accumulation of all telegraphic data entering into or exiting from the United States...
. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978America's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 is an Act of Congress, , which prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" America's Foreign Intelligence...
was voted by the Congress after the exposure of the latter.
- In the United States, the DNA Identification Act of 1994 formally authorized the FBI to operate CODIS. It was completed by the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000The DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 is a United States Act of Congress that primarily allows U.S. States to carry out DNA analyses for use in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System and to collect and analyse DNA samples.Under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 , 42...
, which was amended by the USA PATRIOT Act, Title VUSA PATRIOT Act, Title VTitle V: Removing obstacles to investigating terrorism is the fifth of ten titles which comprise the USA PATRIOT Act, an anti-terrorism bill passed in the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It contains 8 sections regarding the capture and prosecution of terrorists.-Payment of...
.
- Homeless Management Information SystemsHomeless Management Information SystemsHomeless Management Information System is the term used to describe a class of database applications used to confidentially aggregate data on homeless populations served in the United States....
developed in the late 1990s.
- CM/ECFCM/ECFCM/ECF is the case management and electronic case files system for most of the United States Federal Courts...
(Case Management Electronic Case Filing)
- The FBI is currently the subject of a lawsuit brought by the Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
(EFF) because of a lack of public notice describing their database and the criteria for including personal information, as required by the Privacy Act of 1974Privacy Act of 1974The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, Public Law No. 93-579, establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies...
. The lawsuits are a result of two Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the EFF in 2006.
See also
- BiometricsBiometricsBiometrics As Jain & Ross point out, "the term biometric authentication is perhaps more appropriate than biometrics since the latter has been historically used in the field of statistics to refer to the analysis of biological data [36]" . consists of methods...
- Mass surveillanceMass surveillanceMass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
- SurveillanceSurveillanceSurveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
- National DNA databaseNational DNA databaseA national DNA database is a government database of DNA profiles which can be used by law enforcement agencies to identify suspects of crimes....