Back to sppeding and cameras briefly - privacy

[Richard Clayton]

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In article <RmUJLGALFdh5EwkZ@perry.co.uk>, Roland Perry
<roland@linx.net> writes

>In article <16aeYdCAuch5EAhH@turnpike.com>, Richard Clayton
><richard@turnpike.com> writes
>>You'll see from the website that the claim is that specific notices for
>>specific events are no longer issued - hence the "advice"
>
>Advice is likely to be along the lines of "please don't do this or we'll
>have to take action". 

Not according to the website .. who make them out to be really cuddly
people with only your best interests at heart....

Q.  Do all editors, etc. have to use the system?
A.  No, it is voluntary, and even when they do use the system, they do
    not have to accept the advice of the DA-Notice Secretary nor accede
    to his requests; the final decision as to whether to publish
    something is the editor's.

Q.  What powers does the DA-Notice Secretary/Committee have?
A.  None, except those of persuasion.

Q.  If an editor does publish (or threaten to) something which is
    damaging, what does the DA-Notice system do about it?
A.  Nothing.

However, I suspect what you may have in mind is...

Q.  Does the Government do anything if an editor decides to publish
    something possibly damaging?
A.  In serious cases, the government department concerned can initiate
    police and/or legal action, including seeking a court injunction to
    stop something being published.

Q.  Why does the government not always do this, rather than rely on a
    voluntary system?
A.  It is costly and time-consuming, and often creates adverse
    publicity, and there is no guarantee that the judge will uphold the
    government's case. It can also be taking a sledgehammer to crack a
    nut, when the government is usually concerned to protect some
    detail, eg agents' names, rather than stop a story completely, which
    injunctions tend to do. 

There's rather a good typo where they say "Stage" rather than "State"
and the history section of the site is a little brief (I think people
underestimate the widespread interest in not only the current position
but also the history of issues like secrecy and Government policies).

- -- 
richard                       writing to inform and not as company policy
     want to have an influence on ICANN ?  http://members.icann.org/
"Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind" quoted in ZAMM

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