Digital Rights Ireland

What you should ask when politicians call

May 3rd, 2007

Now that you’re likely to find a politician on your doorstep, it’s a good time to raise issues you think are important. Antoin has put up a guide to questions you might like to ask your candidates:

You should ask your candidate where they stand on personal privacy. Ask them whether you think the government has any business recording details of the people you telephone or text, the web pages you look at or the places you go when you carry your mobile telephone.

If they say that privacy is a fundamental right, then ask them how they voted on the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act, 2005 which enshrined government snooping into Irish law. If they say that privacy sometimes has to take second place to security, ask them why they didn’t even allow a debate on the issue in the Dail or in the chamber. The Act was put into law within a few hours with no prior notice.

If your candidate says they don’t know anything about the issue, then ask them why they voted away a fundamental human right without bothering to find out about it.

Entry Filed under: DRI