Greetings. What does an Internet Police State look like in an ersatz democracy?

The UK is apparently well on its way toward providing a remarkable and depressing object lesson that could answer this very question.

Long enamored of oppressive surveillance techniques -- there's now reportedly a CCTV camera for every 14 persons or so in England -- the once Great Britain appears poised for a massive thrust into the world of Internet dictatorship (from the materials being revealed, it seems inappropriate to use weaker terminology).

Her Majesty's government seems hell bent for powers that would not only far surpass attacks on Internet freedoms in Australia, but would likely even be considered beyond the pale in China, home of the Great Firewall.

Every day we see more and more how Terry Gilliam's masterpiece 1985 film Brazil was startlingly prophetic.

The appropriate role of government should be to enhance the freedoms of Internet users -- e.g., by requiring Net Neutrality -- not turning the Internet into an instrument of surveillance, censorship, and repression.

If I may paraphrase a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller:

First they tapped the telephones, and I did not speak out--because I rarely used the telephone.

Then they demanded that we all carry hi-tech ID cards, and I did not speak out--because the cards seemed oh so very convenient.

Then they installed video surveillance CCTV cameras everywhere, and I did not speak out--because they told us that the cameras would fight crime and terrorism.

Then they took control of the Internet, and I did not speak out--because they said that entertainment industry profits and monitoring of our Internet activities were much more important than individual freedoms.

And then they came for me--and there was no way left to speak out at all.

--Lauren--