UK Constitution Committee to investigate surveillance overload
By Darren Murph 
posted May 1st 2007 9:43AM
posted May 1st 2007 9:43AM
For those dwelling in England who enjoy a touch of privacy in their day to day lives, help could be on the way. Amidst the smattering of new surveillance methods being installed and implemented within the nation's border comes a second inquiry into the "constitutional implications" of such invasive measures. If you'll recall, the Commons' Home Affairs committee has already planned its own review, and now the UK's Constitution Committee will be "conducting an inquiry on the consequences of the collection and use of surveillance and personal data by the State." Basically, the group is trying to visualize just how damaging all these CCTV installations, car trackers, and behavior monitors are on the "relationship between individuals and institutions." Another aspect will be to scrutinize whether UK citizens need additional protection under the law from such voyeuristic tactics, and judging solely by the sheer multitude of surveying going on over there, we couldn't complain with a little extra shielding. [Warning: Word Document read link][Via El Reg]
As an Irish person I fundamentally object to that photo! we're a separate fucking country had have been for over 80 years! Engadget that's beyond being funny! it's the same as showing the a map of the states under the Union Jack. Congratulations u've succeeded in offending every Irish person in the entire world.
We didn't create that image, it's the cover from a Megadeth single used ironically. We're not making any claims about Ireland or anything of the like. While we absolutely respect Irish identity, I have ZERO idea why anyone would get offended over our repurposing a metal band's album cover from the 80s for this article. It sounds like your issue is with Megadeth, not with us!
How many times Engadget?
UK = Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales!
As petty as it may seem, if engadget don't stop referring to the the whole of Britain as England I'm just going to have to stop reading. Well OK, maybe not, but it still pisses me off.
Silence, or we'll invade you again.
this is the sleeve from "anarchy in the uk" by the sex pistols, so maybe you could go and have a pop at them and leave the engadget editors alone.
@KoldKompress: good comment!
I agree change the image !
Umm hello,each engadget author should really be given a geography lesson!
Mikey and KoldKompress it's that kind of insensitive, uninformed supremacist bullshit that leads to hate between our two countries (I'm assuming you're British, probably English, the Welsh and the Scots aren't so imperialistic. How'd you like a French or German flag covering a map of you country. You may not object to those countries but I'd bet you'd still rather not their identities superimposed on your national identity.
Grow up!
I can't believe engadget used such an awful image of the so called british Isles. The Republic of Ireland dealt with 800 years of oppression at the hand of the british and this image is as insulting as putting up an image of the USA with a french flag or an Al Quida flag (if they had one) draped over it.
I object to the fact Angelsey has been replaced by a hole and the Isle of Wight is nowhere to be seen. Disgusting.
Oh and sort out the bit with Ireland. It's embarassing. Imagine having your national identity ignored.
Yeah, I'm far from a rabid nationalist, but that really offended me. And Mikey, this is apparently from a Megadeath version of the single. John Lydon's parent's are both Irish and he's bloody smart so I don't think he'd make this kind of mistake. At least, not accidentally...
eh wtf engadget!, as an irish person i take extreme offence to the photo, i would have though the editors of engadget would have the brains to know a little frackin geography and something about european history
I'm Irish, and I don't mind the picture. Everyone knows Ireland's a seperate country, and if they don't, that's their problem. How does it affect us?
I'm certainly not a nationalist, but I do object to this image. I am not bothered by the fact that the editor is clearly misinformed, but that they are perpetuating this ignorance.
Come on lads, have you ever even looked at a map of Europe, this is way out of order. England, Britain, the UK, and especially Ireland are not one and the same entity. Whatever about using 'England', to describe Britain or the UK, to use an image which includes Ireland draped in the British flag is just plain ignorant and insensitive.
The slightest bit of awareness of world history and geo-political relationships would tell you that this was a mistake. Seriously, put down the gadgets, back away slowly and go read a book or look at a map, and start to learn about the world outside of your back garden.
Come on, you really need to learn what "United Kingdom" and "Great Britain" mean, we may be one country, but if we were only made up of England, England, England and Northern England, then we would be named England.
Get it right, because every time you get it wrong, you destroy the British (and Irish!) people's faith in America.
Lads relax. A sizable proportion of Americans think Ireland is a mythical place full of leprechauns and first appeared in Lord of the Rings. At least the guys at Engadget got the shape of our island roughly correct so they must have graduated before Bush and the republicans took all the money from Schools and Universities to fund Canada’s war in Iraq ;-)
People who enjoy waving flags don't deserve to have them.
(Sorry I'm from England and wish we had never tried to rule Ireland so that we didn't spend so many years having the crap blown out of us by the IRA and those in Ireland didn't have to live in such a segregated and hate filled place)
"Freedom of expression doesn't make it alright, I'm troubled by the thought of the rise on the right".
Sorry, forgot to say. Isn't it all religions fault anyway?
guess engadget should have taken the picture used for the sex pistols version instead of the megadeth version :)
Engadget, you really put your foot in it this time! Are you at least educated enough to know how an image like this can piss people off to no end from all over the UK and Ireland.....and people wonder why Scotland and Wales want independence from the UK. Now, I'll do this slowly this time so maybe it'll actually sink in. United Kingdom = Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great Britain = Scotland, England and Wales. Britain is not a country; it's a nation of countries. It's not the Queen of England, it's not the Prime Minister of England. England wasn't the only one that fought in the war in WWII.....I could go on, but why bother. Ignorance seems to be a theme these days!!
To whoever put Republic of ireland in the fucking uk flag deserves to be kicked in the ass. would you like to have an iraq flag over your country?, you just succeded in pissing off one irish person who is about to email this to my whole college and will get passed further
WTF? Ireland is NOT part of the UK, we spent the best part of 800 years trying to get our freedom back and now you're trying to tell us we're still part of it! get your facts right!
U really stepped in it, thanks for the link 2shae.
I would love to fight the person who decided to use that picture, YOUD BE DEAD
Thanks for the link 2Shae, Are u still On campus?
I wasn't aware of that, I don't know the band Megadeath, nor have listened to any of their music. But wouldn't you think that reproducing the image would cause this reaction? I've yet to read a comment that's actually on the article instead of that image (at least you got rid of it).
At least its gone now
A couple of people mentioned the album art after your comment.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/01/uk-constitution-committee-to-investigate-surveillance-overload/comments/4726028/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/01/uk-constitution-committee-to-investigate-surveillance-overload/comments/4730265/
Either way, it's changed out now so there can be no misunderstanding. I just have no idea why/how people think we would have created that image from scratch when we aren't known to have a story-illustrator on hand, and we ARE known for lots of pop culture references.
I might suggest that the issue isn't whether or not you created it, but that you used it.
Ryan, that really is a rather poor excuse and an even poorer apology.
I didn't see anyone suggest that you had created the image, but the image was obviously chosen by someone and approved for use. While Engadget may be a blog which frequently plants its tounge firmly in its cheek, and makes ample use of pop culture references, it is also a media organisation and should have some awareness regarding what's going to be totally out of order.
Just because you reproduce someone else's image does not give carte blanc to do as you will, once you redistribute an image you must assume responsibility for its use. And it is the use of this image with which I took issue, and it is the casual manner with which you dismiss the offence caused that I continue to take issue with.
irishagainstengadget.com
j/k