NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Government webpage for every citizen in the race to create a paperless society
----- Forwarded message from Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> ----- Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:16:08 -0700 From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> Subject: Re: [IP] Government webpage for every citizen in the race to create a paperless society To: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net> Dave, Remind me again what happens to those persons banned from the Internet under the "Three Strikes" (and other existing and/or proposed laws) if such a regime came to pass? And that's just one of the many reasons why such a concept is inane. It's one thing to offer online services as a very useful alternative, but once you make them mandatory, start closing the call centers and *require* everyone regardless of skill levels to use the Internet for basic government services, it's a recipe for potential disaster and effective disenfranchisement of the very people who are often in need of those services the most -- even if you have a wonderfully designed and operated computing infrastructure. This is just the sort of half-baked IT wackiness we've come to expect from Her Majesty's government of late. Jeez. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@vortex.com Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein - - - On 03/20 14:51, Dave Farber wrote: > > > > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> >> Date: March 20, 2010 2:08:15 PM EDT >> To: dave@farber.net >> Subject: Government webpage for every citizen in the race to create a >> paperless society >> > >> Hi Dave: >> >> From today's (UK) Times newspaper - for IP if you wish. >> >> Cheers >> >> Brian >> >> --- >> >> Government webpage for every citizen in the race to create a paperless >> society >> >> All public services could be delivered online within four years under >> an ambitious pledge by Gordon Brown to create a paperless state and >> save billions of pounds, The Times has learnt. >> >> Tens of thousands of public sector jobs could go in Jobcentres, >> benefit offices, passport centres and town halls if face-to-face >> transactions are scrapped in favour of cheaper and more efficient >> online form-filling. >> >> On Monday the Prime Minister will announce plans that he claims could >> save billions of pounds over four years by making dealing with the >> State as easy as internet banking or shopping on Amazon. Cash will also >> be saved on postage stamps, telephone calls and government buildings as >> the switch to the internet leads to the phasing out of call centres and >> benefit offices. >> >> The aim is that within a year, everybody in the country should have a >> personalised website through which they would be able to find out >> about local services and do business with the Government. A unique >> identifier will allow citizens to apply for a place for their child at >> school, book a doctor's appointment, claim benefits, get a new >> passport, pay council tax or register a car from their computer at >> home. >> >> Over the next three years, the secure site will be expanded to allow >> people to interact with their children's teachers or ask medical >> advice from their doctor through a government version of Facebook. But >> union leaders and privacy experts immediately warned that the >> Government's record on IT projects was already catastrophic and there >> would be key concerns about privacy, data protection and fraud. In >> addition many elderly, disabled and undereducated people find it >> difficult to carry out transactions online. >> >> . . . >> >> Full story at: >> >> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7069240.ece >> >> >> Some early cynical commentary on this by Toby Young can be found in a >> (UK) Daily Telegraph blog: >> >> Broon's latest announcement could cost the taxpayer billions >> >> Oh dear. Here we go again. Gordon Brown is due to announce on Monday >> that he wants every citizen to have their own personal webpage within >> three years of Labour being re-elected. According to the Prime >> Minister, this will enable them to access a range of public services >> online, allowing them to apply for school places, book GP >> appointments, claim benefits, get a new passport, pay council tax or >> register a car. >> >> Sounds like a good idea until you pause to think how much it's going >> to cost. When it comes to delivering cost-effective, large-scale IT >> programmes, New Labour's track record is lamentable. To take just one >> example, the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT), established in >> 2002, was originally supposed to cost £2.3 billion over three years. In >> 2006, with the Programme far from complete, the National Audit Office >> estimated the total cost over 10 years would be £12.4 billion. >> Officials involved in the Programme now think its cost will be closer >> to £20 billion and it won't be complete until 2014-15, though even this >> target - some nine years later than originally planned - is regarded as >> wildly unrealistic by most seasoned observers. Needless to say, those >> bits of the Programme that have come on stream so far are largely out >> of date and unworkable. According to Edward Leigh, the Chairman of the >> House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, "This is the biggest IT >> project in the world and it is turning into the biggest disaster." >> >> . . . >> >> http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100030731/broons-latest-announcement-could-cost-the-taxpayer-billions/ >> >> >> -- >> School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon >> Tyne, >> NE1 7RU, UK >> EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 >> FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell >> > > > > ------------------------------------------- > Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now > RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ > Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----