Terrorism Act 2000

[Ross Anderson]

David Hansen may be a terrorist, but I'm also an _international_
terrorist, and the reasons why are perhaps somewhat sobering.

In a posting yesterday to the list on the health and social care bill,
I suggested that if the government succeeds in granting itself
unlimited access to all computerised personal health information in
the country, we should have an `opt-out'campaign under which large
numbers of people would instruct their doctors not to share their
information with the centre, or put it on a computer at all.

Am I a terrorist?

> 1. - (1) In this Act "terrorism" means the use or threat of action where-
>
> (a) the action falls within subsection (2)
> ...
> (2) - (d) creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public
> or a section of the public, or
>
>       (e) is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt
> an electronic system.

(e) is certainly satisfied, and the NHS bureaucrats will argue that (d) is
too. Now continuing with (1):

> (b) the use or threat is designed to influence the government or to
> intimidate the public or a section of the public, and

clearly satisfied - meant to influence the government

> (c) the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political,
> religious or ideological cause.

protecting patient privacy seems to be solidly covered here! It has been
a political hot potato at various times since 1910, and is seen by NHS
bureaucrats as being `ideological'.

So a UK opt-out campaign against section 67 of the Health and Social Care
Bill is terrorism. No doubt whatsoever.

But that's not all. I also advise the Icelandic Medical Association on
their resistance to Roche's database there, and they've organised an
opt-out campaign to which 10% of the adult population of Iceland have
subscribed. Now at (4) we find:

> (4) In this section-
>
> (a) "action" includes action outside the United Kingdom,
> ...
> (d) "the government" means the government of the United Kingdom, of a 
> Part of the United Kingdom or of a country other than the United Kingdom.

So offering my professional consulting services to the IMA, in support
of their campaign to uphold the EU Data Protection directive in their
country and obstruct a system that has been condemned as contrary to
EU law by the information and privacy commissioners of every EU
country - including Elizabeth France - is also clearly terrorism.

So now we know. We are all terrorists now!

Ross

PS: evidence of my terrorist career in the UK is at 

	<http://archive.coollist.com/showmon.cgi?l=health59>;

more, plus evidence of terrorism in Iceland, at 

	<http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/#Med>

see also

	<http://www.gorjuss.com/medicalprivacy/>