Incompetence and Privacy

I don't generally get too worked up about privacy -- if I were I probably wouldn't be shooting my mouth off on the internet.

Where I draw the line is at the government insisting I hand over private information under threat of criminal sanction, and then giving it to anyone who pays for it.

As Neil Herron has discovered is the case with DVLA data.

Sainsbury's might be as careless with their data, but I don't have to give them any more than I want to.

HSBC I might have to hand over data to (because of the outrageous government regulation that insists they collect all sorts of data they don't care about themselves), but they could never get away with what the government does routinely.