I have been working with this guy for some time now and about 2 months ago the police appeared on his door step and removed all his computer equipment on the suspicion that there was child porn on it. He had been a vigourous customer of internet pornography but was sure there was no child porn accessed.
However as one can imagine this disturbed him greatly. And he has had to live with this hanging over his head for a few months. Most stressful indeed. He contacted the police a number of times to find how it was going and could he have his computers back. Each time he was basically told they were still looking into it.
Last week two police officers came to his house to return his computers and apologised. Now I have had other clients who have had their computers removed for similar reasons and the police do not treat you like that in such circumstances. This treatment was most unusual. They apologised and stated to him that there were no illegal images at all on his computer.
Furthermore they explained to him that in Australia there were now new laws in place where internet service providers had to flag certain searches, words and websites. When someone accessed these they were required by law to inform the police of what had been accessed and by whom. As far as child porn goes the net put in place was much too wide and they were getting reports being made of completely legal websites and searches, and then they left.
Holley Molley!! BTW his ISP is Bigpond which is the same as mine. About 2 years ago I wrote a blog post on the hijab and I got a couple of responses from some White Supremacists. Now I certainly am not of the same views as these people. However I have never met such people with these views before and I went to have a look at their websites to see what they say, how they think and operate.
Would this have resulted in my name being sent by Bigpond to some policing body? Is my name on some police file somewhere? If I am surfing the net and at some point end up at an “Osama is a great guy” website will my name be passed on then. Others than myself occasionally use my computer, so what have they been doing on it?
Pornography?
Graffiti
Tony,
ReplyDelete"Would this have resulted in my name being sent by Bigpond to some policing body? Is my name on some police file somewhere?"
Yeah - probably *Shrugs*
"If I am surfing the net and at some point end up at an “Osama is a great guy” website will my name be passed on then."
Well if that's the way things work then - yeah, probably.
"Others than myself occasionally use my computer, so what have they been doing on it?"
I honestly wouldn't have the foggiest idea.
Your point is?
… roses
My point Roses?
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time there was a thing called privacy.
Now if I go to some website quite innocently that does not mean I am a perve or a terrorist but the government seems to think that I now have to prove that I am not.
Also I can be walking the streets completely innocently and be given a random search for drugs by having some dog shove its nose in my groin and sniff around. Once upon a time I was presumed to be innocent but now they presume I am guilty and I have to pass a drug search to prove it
graffiti
I guess in these circumstances Grafitti, at least they can differentiate between the non users and "users" of internet porn. I guess that we will have to come to terms with less privacy in our daily lives and the possibility of being erroneously suspected of such crimes. I wouldnt like my identity to be stolen on the internet.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be worse being investigated by the CCC.
kenoath
I must admit to being angry about the police using sniffer dogs recently. Its not that I walk around with drugs, however it does seem to the idea of the police state.God knows what could be next?
ReplyDeletekenoath
Hello Kenoath
ReplyDeletegood to see you back in the world of cyber space.
what is next is a very good question? From what I have seen I think I am a bit of a lone voice. I don't see a lot of others, particularly the young, making the same protest that I am here. So if the police keep pushing for more powers then I assume they will be given them unless people start saying no, and that is not happening at the moment.
Tony
Crickey, its the generation gap clunking for me Tony. Uunless that is people of today are generally conforming.
ReplyDeletekenoath
We all know you are a subversive Graffiti.
ReplyDelete;-))
Do you remember Citizen Smith?
ReplyDeleteNo kahless,
ReplyDeleteI don't know who citzen smith is
and I hope I am submissive, OPPPS!! Subversive
Graffiti
Privacy is becoming a less known entity these days Tony - yes, i'm with you there. But didn't you already explain why that is in the recently posted "Establishing Independance" post? Actually - practically every post you've ever written (that i know of)?
ReplyDeleteOr are you just having a rant in plain english - you know, with out all the psycho-babble stuff in it? I think its easier to understand that way. I really like the way you show us in Sructural or Functional form and then talk about it in relative less-psychological form.
That is what you're doing isn't it? Am i getting you? Or have i totally missed the boat?!
Thank goodness its... ohh no! Its only Thursday! *Huff*
So... you're a sub. I've read a little on BDSM. I don't understand it and the pain element frightens me a little.
ReplyDeleteOK Roses,
ReplyDeleteSounds like Thursday is not your favorite day.
Not too sure what you are saying but it is, Go Grrrl!
I like most days Tony. We're ok. Its ok.
ReplyDeleteJust after i left you, a lovely lady came to pick me up and take me to meet another lovely lady at a coffee shop for morning tea. Hanging with lovely ladies is quite... lovely. I'm really not a lovely lady but i do enjoy lovely company and the morning tea was totally yum!
This Thursday is quite a favorite day.
I'm a christian. Or its what i know the best. I can't seem to put the thing down. But i'm reading about some stuff in philosophy class that is so nice. Living in an enclosed box ones whole life can make one a little... insular. Wow! Life is so big and variety filled.
This Thursday has been a really nice day.
Thank you for being alive. I so appreciate it.
... roses
It would be good to see a group of dog owners who wish to protest against the "Nanny State". They can all circulate around police headquarters with their dogs sniffing any policemen and their cars coming from the building.
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt think there would be a law against that as long as one registers their protest with the police first I think. I am not against the police busting drug dealers however in my mind they are crossing the lines of personal privacy.
kenoath
Tony! Tony! Guess what! Guess...
ReplyDeleteOk - i'll tell you...
I passed! Actually passed! *sigh*
Oh my goodness! I'm giggily all over!
OK Roses,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I am glad you passed!
I would probably more glad if I knew what you actually had passed!
Its friday here and I suppose it is Friday where you are as well. The weekend looms for us both Yaaaaay!
Cheers
Tony
I concur with your sentiments Kenoath,
ReplyDeleteI don't deal in illicit drugs nor do I transport them from A to B.
I am innocently walking along the street and a policeman with his dog see me. I am not doing anything anti social nor am I intoxicated. At that point the policeman assumes that I am carrying illegal drugs. If he did not assume that then he would have no reason to search me.
I object to his assumption and I also object to being searched when I have done nothing anti social or illegal. He moves up to me and searches me by getting his dog to sniff me.
I am powerless to do anything because the goevrnment has said that he has the power to assume I am crarrying drugs and to search me against my will even when I have done nothing wrong.
As you said kenoath,
What's next?
Graffiti
Aww thanks Tony. It was Philosophy. Impossible and more! Perhaps the only way to do the ‘humanly impossible’, is simply to be human and do them regardless of how impossible the task is. We're amazing creatures Tony.
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering…
Is a policeman a public servant? And, are they not then an employee of us? I think that includes anyone who is a government employ (of any kind) too.
Another thought – you have the power here (in your blog) to delete comments. Even when they're you're own. So you police your blog pretty much don't you?
So wouldn’t it follow that, here, in our country (Australia), our political leaders along with those who police or ‘keep the peace’ of our country, have a power we alone allow them to have.
Perhaps, if the assumption or question of our innocence is ever brought up, in the way you’ve described, and we’ve not behaved in an antisocial manner – then scream bloody murder! Make a noise! I would certainly expect that we understand, at least hold a basic working knowledge of our constitution and move constitutionally against such an ‘invasion of privacy’, ‘bullying’ and/or, any move to discredit our character.
Do you know your constitutional rights? Like, actually know our constitution? Or at least know it enough to find something when needed in the pages and pages of ink?
If we don't understand Australian policy nor show any interest in it, then we choose by default – through a willingness to be complacent about our rights – to live as free citizens; well, at least as free as freedom can possibly exist to be in any social state. If we know and understand our constitutional rights then scream them to the high heavens and force the bullies to tow the line.
Its not a matter of who's the boss. Simply a matter of whether our ideal of freedom is important enough to protect or not. Learn how things work and then… govern by bringing the authorities in to line of “our” (their and our – as the ‘people’) ideals.
I do have to say though; it appears that I am unwilling or complacent to do anything about the drug trade, slavery, and other human and non-human exploitation. I just don’t know how to deal with such things so I must say that I do feel safer knowing someone is out there (empowered) and doing what they can to keep an amount of peace. Perhaps, yes, the abuse of such powers is intolerable.
Holy Smokes - that was a long one!
"If we don't understand Australian policy nor show any interest in it, then we choose by default – through a willingness to be complacent about our rights – to live as free citizens..."
ReplyDeleteSupposed to read
"... then we choose by default to relibquish - through a willingness to be complacent about our rights – any right to live as free citizens..."
Oh Geez! Still didn't get it right. See now how amazing it is that i passed?
ReplyDelete