Ian Kerr was getting paid to snoop on his fellow citizens in the UK.  Such a violation of personal privacy is not allowed for profit.

Yesterday David Smith, the deputy information commissioner, said: “This is a serious breach of the Data Protection Act. “Not only was personal information held on individuals without their knowledge or consent, but the very existence of the database was repeatedly denied [by the industry].

“The covert system enabled Mr Kerr to unlawfully trade personal information for many years, helping the construction industry to vet prospective employees. Kerr held information on thousands of construction workers and profited by checking names against his database.” After closing down Kerr’s business, the information commissioner is to prosecute him for breaking the Data Protection Act.

We think it is admirable that the UK is trying to void the penetration of private interests in the public trust. 

In the USA there are all sorts of “data collection” agencies that sell, on the internet, personal information for a fee.  Anyone can use one of those services to open up their own Bounty Hunter shop, data collection agency or dunning service.  They answer to no one.  They serve no watchdog or time clock.

We even have the FDNY encouraged to serve as spies on the citizens the agency is intended to protect and help.

When will the USA government step in to protect the ordinary citizen from the “for-profit” private spy?

4 Comments

  2. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    I guess when that bad behavior stops paying so well, Gordon. It seems Kerr had been making a lot of money on this scheme for a long time.

  3. ANNE – I live and teach on the upper West Coast of the United States. My interests are Philosophy, English, and Social Communication.
    ANNE says:

    I think this is good. The UK try to protect privacy. Catching bad guys is hard.

  4. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    The state must play a role in privacy protection, Anne. If not then who can we expect to defend us?

Comments are closed.