Most Heinous Government Organization

Its that time of year again when Privacy International hands out the UK Big Brother Awards. Amongst the categories are
Worst Public Servant, Most Invasive Company, Most Appalling Project, Most Heinous Government Organization and Lifetime Menace. This being the UK there is strong competition and the winners don’t disappoint

Most Appalling Project was awarded to Britain’s National Health Service electronic medical records program, which aims to computerize patient records in a way that some have protested is insecure and will compromise patient privacy.

Most Heinous Government Organization was won by The Office of National Statistics for its development of the Citizen Information Project, which will collect, collate and share U.K. citizens’ data with other government agencies.

Its all summed up nicely by the quote

“We are seeing a race to the bottom, where government and private sector alike compete to provide the most intrusive services in the most unstable environment for privacy,” said Davies. “The proclaimed need for protection of children and the fight against terrorism is often shamelessly used as the pretext for privacy invasion.”