The astonishing amount of data gathered on every one of us

The astonishing amount of data gathered on every one of us

rinf.com

Ever wondered how much personal information is held about you? Well, it looks something like this… Stacked over two feet high and weighing 12kg (nearly two stone), this pile of more than 3,000 sheets of paper contains every private detail of my life in my 35 years on the planet.

As controversy rages over introduction of ID cards, I decided to find out how much personal data is held about me by sending out requests under the Data Protection Act to 46 organisations asking for copies of all my i

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is really frightening. 35 years of age and 3000 pages of what the person has been doing in all these years?

The credit card details, the bank transactions, internet activity, online shopping...staggering the amount of information that the authorities have access to.

The govt or it's agencies can misuse this data as they please. This is what the real today is?

Phone records and DNA are private information and should not be used without the consent of the person.

The real UK Govt agenda is out on this one. (and other countries too)

rinf.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 29-6-2009 by sunny_2008ny]

Just because this guy got all of that information about himself, doesn't mean anyone else can get it about him. Most of the information he got no one else can get without a valid reason and a warrant unless they manage to break several privacy laws, not even a government agency. Of course that doesn't mean that they won't do it anyway if they decide they need to, but it would still be illegal.

Everyone leaves a paper trail, whether they realize it or not. Not really much anyone can do about it unless they were born in a cave and never joined civilization for any length of time.

Glad someone is so interested in my life. What fans.

reply to post by Jenna

Most of the information he got no one else can get without a valid reason and a warrant

You are living in a real-time information age. This kind of data is 'sold' to marketing agencies that then pester you to buy their products, by phone and by email. They get information on your shopping habits, credit card usage and then they know what you have been buying.

This is a big racket that goes on behind the doors and I am sure the Govt is involved in this.

The profiling of our supermarket habits is bad enough. Your shopping basket can reveal whether you have sex, kids, medical or dietary issues and what you read and watch. We need to be far more careful and demanding before signing up to loyalty schemes

Source: rinf.com...


[edit on 29-6-2009 by sunny_2008ny]

reply to post by sunny_2008ny


Looking at it item by item shows that most of the things listed are not bought and sold to marketing companies. In fact it would be illegal to do so.

Medical and Dental - Those cannot be released to anyone without your express written consent barring a judge's order for it to be released.

School Records - Can only be released at the students consent after the age of 18, or the parents consent if the student is under 18. Scores can be released to improve educational testing and curriculum, but name and other personal details are not released.

Financial Records (includes bank account, credit card, and loan information)- Can only be released with account holders consent.

Phone Records - Can only be released to the account holder, or police/government agencies.

Drivers License and Car Registration - Generally released only in cases of legal proceedings, vehicle accidents, or for identification verification. Not released for other purposes without express written consent of the person in question.

Taxes - Records are not released to anyone but the taxpayer.

Passports - New passport cards contain a chip that only contains a number that points to your record in a government database. Information from either the passport card or the passport book is only released with consent of the person in question.

Loyalty Cards, Blockbuster, Amazon, Apple, Hotel Records - Every company retains purchase records. These are the only things in the article that actually are examples of information that can be or is sold to marketing companies.


The only exceptions for any of these, unless otherwise noted, is when there is a warrant or a judge's order for it to be released. Barring any of that, none of your information is bought or sold to anyone for anything.

Edit: It occurred to me after posting that I didn't supply the links for my info. If needed I will hunt them back down and post them.

[edit on 30-6-2009 by Jenna]