Richard's Kingdom

The Gagged Geeks protest against the Digital Economy Bill in Sheffield yesterday exceeded all my expectations. Around thirty protesters handed out 300 leaflets – our entire stock – in less than 20 minutes. We were joined by Paul Scriven, leader of Sheffield Council and Lib Dem PPC for Sheffield Central, who handed out leaflets and [...]

I’ve been following debate on the Digital Economy Bill quite closely since it was announced and have written about it here a couple of times. One issue with this legislation is that it may have the effect of killing public wifi.
My Mum is a librarian. In conversation with her earlier today it occurred to me [...]

To: Alan Powell, Editor, The Star
Dear Sir
James Hall is wrong to claim ID cards will be voluntary (Letters, 10 June).
Sheffield residents won’t be forced onto the National Identity Register directly, unless they’re from outside the European Economic Area, however the Government intends to make it impossible for us to live without an ID card.
Compulsion will [...]

During the recent local Government elections, the Liberal Democrat candidates for my area campaigned in part on a ticket of installing more CCTV cameras. They didn’t really explain the benefits or trade-offs for the community, but they did claim the proposal was part of their strategy to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. I emailed them [...]

Today is the deadline for Cardiff Council to respond to my Freedom of Information Act request about their use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Unfortunately my inbox is bare and the question of whether Cardiff is a Clouseau Council remains unanswered. I think that’s probably illegal, but I guess I should be prepared [...]