The internet is about to die in the UK

Cameron has been edging closer and closer. First we were told that if we don’t want our internet filtered, we’d have to ring our ISP up and tell them.

Now, here we are http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-and-snapchat-could-be-banned-under-new-surveillance-plans-9973035.html

Makes we want to cry.

This is both ridiculus and pointless. If tech savvy people want to communicate in a way that governments don’t know what they are saying they will find a way encryption is easy and I suspect a large number of people here could write an app to encrypt and decript messages. I know I could.

I don’t believe IS or any terroist or criminal group can’t get there hands on a programmer with skills equivent to or better than mine.

Net effect to criminals and terrorists: Zero

Net effect to the non tech law abiding population who may have ligitimate need to send data in such a way that it can’t be read by everyone: Significant.

We need to make sure this moron does not get his way.

I didn’t bother voting in the last election as I moved to Croatia in 2009. Looks like I should register again after all. Just got to find my NI card; it sits in my wallet for years and years and the one time I need it it’s not there. :frowning:

Lets see what happens when he takes away two of the most popular ways for most teenagers/young adults to communicate with each other.

There will be riots.

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They’re just headline grabbing examples. Without HTTPS, everything you do is viewable.

If anyone’s interested, I wrote to the Green party (I seem to remember LUG Radio interviewed them) regarding open source software and SSL.

Here is my letter: https://josephb.org/blog/open_letter_to_green_party/
And their reply: https://josephb.org/blog/reply_from_green_party/

Seemed like a nice, respectful reply to me.

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This has been annoying me so much lately.

I want a political party that will go away and get out of my face, let innovation prosper and cut down on this nanny state we have. That party is meant to be the Conservatives in the UK.

Is it really so much to ask that political parties at least remotely align themselves with the vague concepts their parties exist around.

I really think removing representation is the only solution anymore, we rapidly approach the point where we shouldn’t need people who pretend to associate with our interests dealing with them as a professional capacity. We don’t use horses and birds to carry messages anymore and the Scottish Referendum proved if nothing else that asking the populace to make their own decisions can work, not to mention that was without even beginning to leverage the massive asset that the internet and other modern technology could be to the democratic process. So what’s the point of the Commons?

I’m definitely being a bit idealistic with that but I really hope things start moving in that direction rapidly. Between the basically fake democracy of the US and UK that has lead to our terrible voter turnouts, corruption and complete lack of control of the country and the more modern systems of some european countries that just leave everything as a bureaucratic mess that can’t sort out its paperwork and red tape in time to do anything - the democratic process needs a severe overhaul in coming years.

For reference I voted tory last election and with the information I had at the time I’m happy with the choice.
I will not be voting in the next election if things stay the same.

I can’t vote Tory with Cameron’s clear dedication to crushing free speech.

I can’t vote Labour because their leader is like a piece of damp bog-roll - I would rather have someone who I totally disagree with running the country than an unrepentant puppet who seems to literally ooze incompetence.

Lib Dem’s - yea not even going to start there. I didn’t have time for them even before they sold out everything they stand for.

I can’t vote green because a commitment to nuclear power is very important to me, the work the chinese have managed to do on nuclear power with their thorium salt research while we have been messing around with eco friendliness is absolutely stellar and solves almost all objections to nuclear power.

I can’t vote UKIP because curling up into a ball and using protectionism to try maintain our high living standards and disproportionate power and wealth is just absolutely moronic. We didn’t get these things by trying to build big walls between ourselves and the world and we won’t keep them with that attitude. It’s hardly a new concept and over the thousands of years of human civilisation its consistently been proven a stupid approach.

At least I don’t live in the US that systems not even close to the rails anymore.

Meh rant done

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Your rant reminded me of Albert Einstein’s definition of Insanity:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Lets hope so. I’m pissed off with politicians from all sides here in the UK and around the rest of the world. Democracy only works when one, or more, of the candidates is listening to us and offering us what we want.

But all to often I find when the next election comes my choice not who do I like most – It’s who do I hate least. The whole system is corrupt. I think there is a need for direct action.

Some might even say we need a revolution. Note: I’m not saying we should all be standing behind Russell Brand: I don’t fully agree with him on this but he is no idiot and makes some valid points.