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Story: Stallman attacks Oyster's 'unethical' use of Linux

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Over reaching a bit here!

Although I do not generally subscribe to the theory that 'I've got nothing to hide' .........., in this case Richard Stallman seems to be overstating the case. It seems to me that, like mobile phones, such information might assist police in solving a criminal case but, until some massive central co-ordinated database of all my activities is created, I really don't see the harm. By the way some mobile phones also run on Linux!

Of course, what Richard Stallman is probably railing against is the future integration of all our records into a huge intelligent database whereby the state does know all and controls any freedoms we may imagine we have but which are just that, imaginary.

Nevertheless, already many of our normal activities are recorded, and in some cases abused (junk mail, cold calls, loyalty cards, etc.) and sold on. A short list of the obvious things recorded might contain our everday activities such as shopping habits, card transactions, banking activities,telephone calls, texts, utilities, travel if paid by card, internet usage, DVLC records, driving licences, passports, council records, insurances, tax, pensions, mortgages, financial status, register of voters, health records, where does it stop!

Then there are all the security cameras and speeding cameras.

Many of these records are already co-ordinated (joined up) so, for instance, we can tax our cars on the internet. Similarly we can conduct other business quickly and easily on the internet. On the other hand, much of this information about us can, apparently, be widely disseminated without our knowledge and consent.

The concern is how, now and in the future, this information about us will be used or misused and the great fear is how, in the future, this will impact on our freedom, choices and rights, as evidenced by the arguments over ID cards, biometric passports, central databases and even Phorm, and the shortly to be initiated central database record from birth.

None of this would be possible without the incredible advances in technology which seem to have a driving force and life of their own. Surprisingly even Universities are developing new superspy and control systems, which shocked me when I first heard this. There is a certain inevitability to all this.

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