White Rose is a protest blog collective focusing on civil liberties in the UK.
It was set up to point a finger at the erosion of personal freedom in the UK.
Government's active measures introduce new means of control such as identity cards and surveillance cameras, the passive measures such as weakening of double jeopardy and presumption of innocence.


The arguments
The resistants
Gabriel Syme and Perry de Havilland of Samizdata.net to rally the Anglosphere behind the UK.
White Rose contributors are those bloggers and non-bloggers who oppose restrictions on personal liberties.

To find out how to become a White Rose contributor, please go here.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
I've got you under my skin

The Guardian reports that a number of VIP clubbers at a Barcelona nightclub have been implanted with a chip in their upper arm. Steve van Soest, spokesman for the club explains:

One of our owners wanted to do something special for our new VIP section. He'd read about the chip in newspapers, so we started to see if it was possible and legal here in Spain. It was.

Since its launch, 25 people have had the chip injected into their upper arm by a registered doctor at the club, which also plans to use the technology in its sister club in Rotterdam.

Now, however despicable and unacceptable I find compulsory tagging and identification, this is voluntary. These people have chosen to have the chip injected and I see no reason to get excited about that. I will, however, object to the state or other institutions forcing me to do it either by straightforward coercion backed by law or by not giving me a choice.



Comments

The problem is likely to be the inevitable function creep. What starts out as a relatively minor convenience for some will be seen as such a great idea that it becomes increasingly adopted to the point where refusal will make access to everyday goods, services and government agencies difficult if not impossible - because you won't be able to access anything without your chip. Or am I just being pessimistic?

Posted by: Mark Ellott on June 12, 2004 07:40 PM

Mark: No, sadly, you are not...

Posted by: Gabriel Syme on June 12, 2004 08:24 PM
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