

Did GCHQ illegally spy on you? - xvirk
https://privacyinternational.org/illegalspying

======
unfamiliar
Page seems unclear about what the actual intent is. First it simply says
"demanding that they finally come clean" i.e. inform you if your
communications have been intercepted, but then you have to agree "...to
request my records to be deleted."

What if I want to know the former, just out of curiosity, but I'm not that
bothered about demanding my records be deleted, depending on what was
intercepted?

~~~
etiam
Not that unclear on a closer look. From the FAQ at
[https://privacyinternational.org/?q=node/495](https://privacyinternational.org/?q=node/495)
:

" _Why are we doing this?_

Intelligence agencies' culture of secrecy have allowed them, for too long, to
avoid public accountability. Whether it’s secret hearings in closed court
rooms or committees equipped only with rubber stamps, intelligence agencies
like GCHQ have never been forced to answer to the public for their actions.

We think you have a right to know whether you have been caught up in GCHQ and
NSA's illegal intelligence sharing. If so, you have a right to demand that
data be deleted. Privacy International wants to help you assert those rights."

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duncanawoods
It feels like a reinvention of Pascal's wager to guarantee we don't sign up:

a) if I'm worried then I want to sign up but not hand over my details

b) if I'm not worried then I don't mind handing over my details but
uninterested in signing up

~~~
DanBC
But this makes it more important that regular people ask about their details.

It sends the message that it's not just people with paranoia and terrorists
that don't want a pervasive surveillance society, and that it's a normal
everyday desire to not have your government spying on you.

GCHQ will always want to slurp more data; they will rarely err on the side of
less data.

I used to be relaxed about central government spying, and less relaxed about
local authorities using surveillance to check bins or school catchment areas,
and less relaxed still about US companies ignoring the concepts of privacy.
The failure of "them" to protect us from known radicals has made me a bit less
relaxed about government spying.

------
mavdi
Last thing I want is for GCHQ to know that I'm worried about them spying on
me. Then I will properly be spied on.

~~~
etiam
Your call, but consider that the best time possible to push back is in
coordination with others.

I have no doubt you and I both are already 'properly' spied on. The Five Eyes
agencies won't be taken to task for their transgressions by us hiding from
them. At least this way we can contribute to an effort towards forcing them
back under rule of law, finding out what they have collected and demand to
have these records deleted.

I'm signing this with every address I have.

~~~
rlpb
> Your call, but consider that the best time possible to push back is in
> coordination with others.

Maybe they should include a volume promise? For example: "We'll only take
action if at least 100,000 sign up, and only then file all contact details all
together. If we don't achieve this number by x/y/2015, we will not use your
details without further permission from you, and will delete your details
within 90 days of that date unless you tell us we can do otherwise."

~~~
DanBC
Why does volume protect you? Most of this spying is automated. It doesn't make
much difference to them if there are 1,000; 10,000 or 100,000 people on this
list. There are already too many people of interest for GCHQ / etc to monitor
individually effectively. And that group is only about a thousand people.

------
josephmx
What do users who don't want to sign a petition have to do to find out if
we've been spied on?

~~~
etiam
The FAQ actually has a suggestion for that as well.

Consider submitting a complaint here: [http://www.ipt-
uk.com/section.aspx?pageid=16](http://www.ipt-uk.com/section.aspx?pageid=16)

------
superkuh
Probably, but I'll never know through this means because privacyinternational
decided to rely on a javascript dependent page rendering.

------
luxpir
I didn't want to take part the first time I saw this (linked to by sctb below)
but on closer inspection and reading the comments this time around convinced
me.

Still not sure if I'll get to see _what_ was collected, but at least
confirmation will be interesting.

------
Aoyagi
"How could we get a list of people who are afraid of being spied on, and
therefore are suspicious?"

Surely you wouldn't be worried if you had nothing to hide!

/s

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sctb
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9057846](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9057846)

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adaml_623
The site isn't responding but I was assuming it would just come up with a
'Yes' in a similiar way to
[http://www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com/](http://www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com/)
OR [http://isberthastillstuck.com/](http://isberthastillstuck.com/)

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the_angry_angel
Collecting details?

Ha. Nice try GCHQ :P /s

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SpaceInvader
That looks like some sort of bait ;)

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andrew_stewart
probably

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peterkelly
Yes?

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sarciszewski
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the answer is Yes. For me anyway.
:P

