Photography and Terrorism Law in UK

[ClaremontPhoto]

Today's Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/photographers-criminalised-as-police-abuse-antiterror-laws-1228149.html) newspaper highlights how photographers in Britain making photographs in public places have been harassed by the police.

[MickH]

Truly remarkable. Despite Austin Mitchell's EDM there is still no let up in the apparent persecution of photography in the UK.

I do recall one RFF member testing out the security forces in London last year, taking snaps of Ye Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, the MI5 HQ etc. and he wasn't challenged at all. Are things really getting worse, or is it just a slow news day?

[sweathog]

Blood boils again.

[hunghang]

Not just photography... your home computer could be subject to "remote searches" without warrants.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5439604.ece

[Austerby]

It comes down to control issues - certain people get personal satisfaction from telling others what they cannot do. These people are dangerous and their attitudes need to be challenged. It is the nature of the role of a security guards that attracts just those sort of people in the first place. They do not see the same thing as the photographer interested in e.g. the shape, or texture, or the play of light, or the image potential seen by them in what the security guard/policeman regard much more straightforwardly.

[Avotius]

The terrorists win again :rolleyes: silly is it not? They set the first domino falling and we watch our liberty crumble piece by piece as we cry havoc and turn on each other until we are standing in a pile of our own self destruction.

[freeranger]

Its stuff like this that inspires me to go out and take more photographs.

[Roger Hicks]

The terrorists win again.

Exactly. But most people are too stupid and too scared to understand this.

Cheers,

R.

[Matus]

Its stuff like this that inspires me to go out and take more photographs.
I think the building of the US embassy in Bratislava would be a good place to start ;)

[StefanJozef]

I think in the UK it's less about terrorism and more about state control. Section 44 was always going to be used to intimidate innocent individuals. The UK government, and certainly the duplicitous Blair, knew that, and that's why they included it. Governments believe they need to control populations and will use anything to do it. Civil liberties in the 21st century? Forget it.

[nbphoto]

Those who seek political power are the least capable of wielding it effectively.
"Your liberties have been eroded while you slept, welcome to the surveillance society. Your every move will now be monitored, every communication analysed. Anyone who has independent thought or chooses to buck the trend will be incarcerated indefinitely. Welcome to the United Soviet Kingdom, where we know whats best for you."

[Sparrow]

Back in the 60s George Orwell's 1984 was required reading at O level in the UK, I read it a cautionary story others of my generation seen to have seen it as a blueprint, the staff at Minitrue are alive and well, and living in Notting Hill it seems

[35mmdelux]

its about keeping the masses under control. The knucklehead terrorist brought out the good in some and the worst in others.

1984 was required redading, as was Leviathan.

[freeranger]

I think the building of the US embassy in Bratislava would be a good place to start ;)

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/9840/embassyhl9.jpg (http://img129.imageshack.us/my.php?image=embassyhl9.jpg)
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/embassyhl9.jpg/1/w500.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img129/embassyhl9.jpg/1/)

The security gates have taken up half of the street now. Any terrorists who need pictures of sensitive structures need only do a quick search of flickr to find anything they want...try it! Maybe that is the point in the authorities harassing innocent people.

[OurManInTangier]

I'm afraid it just makes me more bloody minded and arguementative, which is somewhat against my nature. However, there is little that they can actually do to stop you if you are firm enough not to roll over.

My main concern is if they actually try to change the current laws!

[photomoof]

Not just photography... your home computer could be subject to "remote searches" without warrants.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5439604.ece

That is a pretty misleading article, you cannot simply "hack" in to a computer that is behind the typical wireless firewall. You must enter the home of the offender and put the application on their computer. Or find someone dumb enough to install a worm.

Good reason to use a Mac though, none of this is even remotely possible without coming to your home and going though quite a bit of bother, and hard to do without leaving a trail, since the admin passwords would have to be changed.

[srichmond]

Sadly it's a trend that's hard to reverse. Any government who tries to do something about the erosion of liberty, and fix the Orwellian laws, will be lampooned by the press for "going soft" on terror. Those who enacted the laws will always defend them.

It's ironic, that you can preach hate and incite murder, without disruption. Try to take some photos of a market stall or a bridge, and you'll either have the police, or the stall owner after you.

[historicist]

1984 was required redading, as was Leviathan.

You had to read Hobbes at school? Though if our society was as he imagined, we would have even less freedom ;)

[hunghang]

That is a pretty misleading article, you cannot simply "hack" in to a computer that is behind the typical wireless firewall. You must enter the home of the offender and put the application on their computer. Or find someone dumb enough to install a worm.

Good reason to use a Mac though, none of this is even remotely possible without coming to your home and going though quite a bit of bother, and hard to do without leaving a trail, since the admin passwords would have to be changed.

Hmmmm... just because I've got a firewall, I must be safe. And whilst my antivirus scanner says I'm virus/worm/malware/etc free, then I'm 100% OK because my A/V knows all the signatures out there.

Also, I'm never dumb enough to go to a website that's compromised.

My MAC solves my computer security problems because vulnerabilities only happen to PCs.

I've also pressed the "secure my computer" button and the "my computer is compromised" red light has not gone off.

I don't mean to attack anyone personally, but it's these assumptions and false sense of security that make all of us vulnerable (esp if made my big corporations/organisations/institutions).

[hunghang]

What about this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7819230.stm

[Sparrow]

What about this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7819230.stm


That one has been on the cards for some time as I understand it also applies to mobile and cable phone calls, the “bio-metric” passport’s introduction has started, and the ID card starts later this year, they are starting with immigrant workers and airport staff to avoid controversy a bit like that poem;

First they came for the communists…………..

[ClaremontPhoto]

I understand that the new UK ID cards will require me to go to a passport office for an iris scan or something.

Recently they closed their Lisbon office, and relocated to Madrid which is about six hours drive away...

[Dralowid]

Twice I have been stopped in public places by plain clothes policemen while carrying a 560mm lens and shoulder stock.

I don't do it anymore.

Michael

[Sparrow]

I understand that the new UK ID cards will require me to go to a passport office for an iris scan or something.

Recently they closed their Lisbon office, and relocated to Madrid which is about six hours drive away...

That’s about it, in order to avoid the political damage that making the ID card compulsory would cause they are intending “requiring” the same information if one needs a passport

Making it very difficult for me to make good my refusenik stance

[Sparrow]

Twice I have been stopped in public places by plain clothes policemen while carrying a 560mm lens and shoulder stock.

I don't do it anymore.

Michael

Not in a tube station I trust :)

[ClaremontPhoto]

The new British ID card card will not be compulsory, just like a US drivers license is not compulsory. But nonetheless needed.

[Sparrow]

The new British ID card card will not be compulsory, just like a US drivers license is not compulsory. But nonetheless needed.

It was always great fun confusing bank tellers and car rental people when producing the old style UK licence, oddly they always accepted it as proof of identity despite it clearly not being