Rodney Sanches
Today, Fools Day
My ears have endured relentless irritation and mind aches at the discussion of the Leveson Inquiry. It is grotesque that a trespass of personal privacy is met with a discourse on press regulation.
At first I thought that the UK lacked privacy laws. Reviewing the charges that the 29 individuals are facing in this scandal, it is clear that laws do exist regarding the expectation of privacy. They are just not enforced or prosecuted; of the 29 people charged, eight are charged with “conspiring to intercept communications without lawful authority”. What makes the lack of conviction for this crime so frustrating is that it is especially easy to collect evidence to prosecute. The phone companies keep records of all calls for billing purposes.
Why would corporate council advise their clients to conduct the kind of information gathering they did? Why are these crimes not pursued by the Crown Prosecution Service? Is the expectation for privacy here flexible enough that if you do not change the password on your phone message from the default, a defendant would argue that you have left your property open for the scrutiny of the public? Why would the discourse focus on repulsive media outlets rather than the lack of protection offered by the state?
If it were possible for the news media in this nation to not behave as craven monsters, why is it still fine for people to listen to my messages?
Thanks to, RSB for reading the first draft and answering questions!