Your search terms are highly sensitive and very private. They are also uniquely identifiable. Examining what you search for can reveal deeply personal facts about you, such as your online reading habits, medical history, finances, sexual preferences and political affiliations.

A database of search terms, linked to subscriber accounts, would be a clear violation of the privacy rights of everyone who uses the Internet in Europe.

I’ve written to my MEPs urging them not to sign Written Declaration 29 and to withdraw their signature if they have already signed. You should do the same – it takes two minutes through writetothem.com

Here’s my letter (but, as always, please use your own words for maximum effect).

Dear Timothy Kirkhope, Edward McMillan-Scott, Andrew Brons, Godfrey Bloom, Diana Wallis and Linda McAvan,

Written declaration 29 [pdf] calls on the European Commission to extend the data retention directive (2006/24/EC) to Internet search-engines. If this were to happen all private searches done on Google et al would be monitored. I feel this would be an intolerable violation of article 8 ECHR privacy rights.

Written declaration 29 is being marketed within the European Parliament by using an emotionally-loaded picture of a child and talking about the need to set up an ”early warning system” to combat child abuse. Laudable though that aim is, as a technical expert it’s my opinion that these measures cannot achieve it, and the marketing is therefore misleading. Some MEPs have already said they feel they have been misled into signing the declaration because of the way in which it was presented to them.

If the declaration is adopted the names of the signatories will be made public.

If you have signed written declaration 29 and feel you have been misled I urge you to withdraw your signature.

Christian Engström MEP has published more information on his website.

I thought it would be interesting to compare the contents of the Liberal Democrat Freedom Bill with the new Government’s version:

What do I conclude from this comparison? That the Government’s outline proposals are a massive step in the right direction however there is still more work to do.

1. Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database.
2. Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.
3. Extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.
4. Adopt the Scottish approach to stopping retention of innocent people’s DNA on the DNA database.
5. Defend trial by jury.
6. Restore rights to non-violent protest.
7. A review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.
8. Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
9. Further regulation of CCTV.
10. Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.
11. A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.
12. End the detention of children for immigration purposes.

Oh my!

As a digital- and civil-rights campaigner this list fills my heart with joy. The successful passage of this Bill through Parliament would not end the need to champion human rights in the digital era* however it would be a famous victory for that cause: we could say with certainty that this election, that the ousting of Labour from Government, was the point at which the high-water mark of authoritarian social policy in Britain was reached.

Some fellow campaigners have today urged caution and are reserving judgement until the details of the Bill are published. I cannot fault them for their cynicism however I am filled with hope that today we have seen not only the dawn of a new politics in Britain, but a new era of liberty, freedom, privacy and respect for human rights in the UK.

I shall be raising my glass to the death of ID cards and the Database State tonight!

* Three omissions stand out: repeal clauses 11-18 of the Digital Economy Act; make the NHS Summary Care Record opt-in rather than opt-out; end the Vetting and Barring scheme, abolish the Independent Safeguarding Authority and reform CRB checks to make them fair. It’s possible that these will be included in the detail of the Bill.

I know there are many people in Sheffield who care passionately about the Internet. I have spoken to lots of local residents who wrote to their MPs opposing the Digital Economy Bill only to be ignored or fobbed off with form letters. The final insult came when the division bell rang and Sheffield’s so-called representatives were hearded by their party whips into the Aye lobby like sheep, deaf to the howls of protest from their constituents.

We can’t let that kind of slur go unchallenged. There is a General Election at hand, which means we have a chance to change our current party flunkies for representatives who are prepared to do just that: represent us.

I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, but if you feel let down by your MP, I encourage you to find one of their opponents and offer to help them get elected instead. There’s a list of Sheffield consituency candidates on the Sheffield Votes website.

Sheffield Central is the only marginal constituency in South Yorkshire. The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a realistic chance of winning the seat from Labour. Therefore I’ll be at Paul Scriven’s campaign office at 10:00 on Saturday morning to do what I can to get rid of Labour in Sheffield Central. If you’re reading this and you think the Digital Economy Act is a bad idea I urge you to join me.

Sign up here: http://www.pledgebank.com/DEActivateLabour

Frankly, I’m appalled. Any illusions I had about Britain being a representative democracy have been shattered. What’s the point of voting when the people we elect just ignore their constituents and do whatever their party whips tell them to? I find it especially hard to understand how an MP can vote on something without even bothering to take part in the relevant debates. Surely that’s a dereliction of duty? If they won’t scrutinise legislation on our behalf then what are we paying them for?

If any of these so-called “representatives” would like to explain themselves to the people of Sheffield we would love to hear their excuses in the comments.

Oh, and would the last person to leave Digital Britain please switch off the Internet?