Great Britain becoming a police state: CCTV cameras now control every move - and word.

Is it 1984 already in the UK? Seems so.




Ever felt overwatched in London? Ever experienced that impression of uneasiness and widespread tension?

Well, the average person in London is filmed 300 times a day. And not only: the Big Brother has or is developing many sensors to see you, record you, scan you and so on. Here are some:

- CCTV cameras: 4.2 millions in all of England, representing 20% of the world's total amount and one for every 14 inhabitants. They're not new stuff, as the first cameras were installed back in 1961 in London's Underground. During the 90s, 78% of the Home Office expense for Crime Prevention went into buying CCTV cameras;

- car tracking network: monitoring highway tolls, parking and so on with an automatic plate recognition, it allows the MI5 and the Police to know the position and movements of cars around Britain. The implementation of face-scanning software on these cameras would allow the network to track people as well;

- shoppers tracking: thanks to RFID tags on the objects you buy, credit card transactions and even store loyalty cards, your every shopping move is registered;

- shouting cameras: meant to dissuade people from anti-social behaviour by shouting at them, these cameras will operate in many localities. Creepy detail: children voices are being used to give more effective orders;

- directional microphones: installed on CCTV cameras, they are meant to be the ears of CCTV. They can detect aggressive tones of voice and they have a yoo yards coverage;

- body scanners: already tested at Paddington Station, these sophisticated machines will scan you with x-rays and show any object beneath your clothes;

- Oyster card: the London transports' access card tracks your movements and is used to track down criminals in association with the Underground CCTVs;

You can found many more ways the Big Brother controls you in the chilling Report on the Surveillance Society (PDF). After examining this report, Richard Thomas, UK's Information Commissioner, has expressed his fear that the UK might "sleep walk into a surveillance society".

One last word: I'm not English, yet I happened to visit London several times across the last months (with 1-hour long queues for passport control). I know London has been attacked and threatened, I understand the fear is widespread and security is not an easy issue. Nobody wants to make it harder.

Just ask yourself how many individual rights will be violated in the future because of this excesses.

It would be nice to see London smile again, this time not to a camera.