How to Find Out What the Government Knows About You

Does the Government Know Likewise Much Near You?

past Matt Oksa

National Freedom of Information Day is a recognized national vacation observed only in the United States. However, at that place'due south a very similar mean solar day recognized by UNESCO called International Right to Know Day. Both of these days have much in common, and both of these days fight for the same goal, but they're historic on different dates and past different organizations and countries.

National Freedom of Data Day was observed on xvi March, and for this reason, we want to give you a short introduction to this important occasion, and write an commodity in a slightly different style as nosotros tell you more than about rights related to personal data.

History of the #FreedomOfInformationDay

We celebrate this Day on the altogether of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, Father of the Constitution. President Madison is a very important figure in the history of the United States. During his presidency and active political life, he held the idea of a transparent and open up government very dear. It took about 12 years for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to exist formally passed by Congress in 1966. Madison, who was president from 1809 to 1817, was an active abet for transparency of regime, costless speech, and openness.

However, he wasn't the 1 who established the National Liberty of Data Mean solar day. He was rather the inspiration for it. The holiday was created past radio host Jim Bohannon and is recognized by several U.Due south. authorities organizations, even though it's not considered a federal holiday.

FOI Human action and its counterparts in the residue of the globe

The Freedom of Data Act is a United states federal police. This constabulary ensures that U.S. citizens have the correct to access information stored by federal agencies. The FOI Human activity gives the correct to access information stored by certain agencies of the U.South. Regime to everyone, regardless of their nation, citizenship status, or criminal record.

At the present day, in that location are over 100 countries with laws similar to the FOI Deed. This freedom of data legislations provide similar rights to admission government data to the laws currently practical in the United states of america. The common ground of all of these laws is that the burden of proof falls on the torso asked for information, not the person asking for it.

What type of data do governments collect nigh you?

Nosotros live in a social club where personal data is used non just to provide but to deny services. Knowing this, aren't y'all curious to find out what your government knows most you? The respond is uncomplicated; they know everything.

Information almost citizens is collected past several agencies such as law enforcement agencies, Revenue Service, Department of Housing, or Social Security Offices.

Hither's a very brusque list of some information your government can accept about yous:

• Name
• Social and Tax Number
• Historic period, nascence date, and identify of birth
• Ethnicity
• Current, past, and temporary addresses.
• Marital condition
• Family and household ties
• Your income and its source

And the list goes on. However, this information isn't accessible to just anyone working for the government. It's safely stored and protected with very express access. Even police force enforcement agencies ordinarily practice non take a legal right to access citizens' information without courtroom approval in countries with existing Liberty of Information laws.

Risk of storing masses of sensitive data

Everything that your government has ever captured about y'all has to exist stored somewhere. Servers and databases, or just only a pile of paper. Various government agencies are well-known as fairly regular victims of data leaks and security breaches. With the amount of information the government surveillance systems capture, attackers tin receive data about your whole life, and much more than.

On top of the risk of the tertiary party breach, nosotros accept a risk of governments willingly sharing, or even re-selling information to third parties. All of this without the approval of its citizens, or fifty-fifty knowledge about such practices. There are several publicly disclosed scandals that include citizens' data leaving public agencies. One of the well-nigh controversial ones being the Great britain's authorities sharing data virtually Britain schoolchildren to third-party researchers. More "popular" scandals involve fifty-fifty individual companies, namely Google, which paid Royal Gratis Hospital in London for a copy of medical records to utilize with their DeepMind AI project.

Are these laws followed by everyone?

Human rights and the laws affecting them are chop-chop improving, while at the same time existence breached without visible slowdown.
Freedom of information — to seek, receive, and impart data about yous held by the authorities — is already recognized by the Universal Proclamation of Human Rights, but exceptions are all the same being made. Public authorities can reject your asking for several reasons created by the respective bodies. This allows public authorities to avert providing information under a few sometimes flimsy circumstances. Some of them, as listed by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office, permit the refusal of a request for these reasons:

• It would cost likewise much or take too much staff fourth dimension to deal with the request.
• The asking is vexatious.
• The asking repeats a previous request from the same person.

Each country and public body has its own set of refusal rules, with some quite unspecific. By having these rules they're able to pass up your request very often for 18-carat reasons, but they can also be abused to preclude y'all from accessing the information that you requested. Abuse of power is not an unheard of practice in government agencies.

Abuse of power and shady practices of federal agencies were revealed several times past whistleblowers. However, at that place might not currently exist one on such a scale as Edward Snowden'southward revelations. He revealed that at that place were sure federal agencies that did not require any courtroom approval at all. This information was more than closely described past the ex-NSA contractor in his Q&A with The Guardian. Snowden willingly leaked details well-nigh NSA led surveillance, and disclosure of the surveillance records to the FBI, CIA, DIA, and others. These agencies were not only able to acquire information without court approval they also had direct access to the SIGINT databases that process all the requests. If you want to acquire more nigh Edward Snowden'south case, all of the files are accessible on The Courage Foundation's website dedicated to him.

Should the regime be collecting your data?

Edward Snowden is either loved or hated. Some might come across him as a hero, a white knight, or every bit a villain and traitor. Regardless of your opinion, we all have to admit that he revealed to u.s. something that we knew but were scared to discuss. After his and many other revelations, the discussion nigh surveillance of individual citizens is getting heated more than than ever before. Governments collect a huge amount of information most every single one of us, and as humans, we have the correct to privacy. No 1 should feel like his privacy is being violated and his every step is watched. Of course, there are cases where surveillance is appropriate, but mass surveillance of citizens should be stopped. Our personal privacy is being intruded on in the name of counter-terrorism and security.

Do you lot remember that the ends justify the means?

Almost United states of america

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Source: https://blog.trezor.io/does-the-government-know-too-much-about-you-becbf440fda6

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