Kissmyrobot

Ouch! Ouch! My robot won’t stop zapping me with his electric punishment electrode – so much for Asimov’s first law of robotics. He says it’s for my own good – and for the good of humanity. He says I need to try to clear my head and make some sense of all these privacy issues that are raining down from all directions.

But the truth is, I don’t know where to start. There are so many issues swimming around in my head – e-mail privacy at work, the release of YouTube users’ records, Internet monitoring through Telecoms, RFID chips, airport officials confiscating laptops, ISPs letting companies track our web journeys, etc. – that I’ve been putting off writing about anything at all.

One of the first places we can turn to in order to start making sense of it all is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and it’s quite a nice website, too. The EFF follows all major developments in the digital age that affect our rights and liberties, and helps you get involved.

Although it’s especially relevant for US citizens, it’s a treasure chest of accessible information that does or could affect anyone using digital devices and information. A quick look on its home page shows debate on a range of issues: bloggers’ rights, e-mail privacy, security, telecom immunity and travel screening.

In a few days, I’ll be flying into Canada, which apparently just recently ushered in a new bill giving airports the right to search the content of laptops. Apparently, there wasn’t much debate about the bill and its consequences until it was too late – just try searching for it online. A lot of people aren’t too happy, but can they do anything about it now? I hope so.

If I was carrying a diary or a folder of confidential work documents, would I have to hand those over for inspection, too? I wonder what they’d do if I left my battery out? Should I try? Better not risk it.