Real History and ••

Posted Friday, July 5, 2002

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To the Editor, 'British Nation News'.

Dear Sir,

With regard to the surveillance issues you covered (British Nation News, 4th July, issue No. 2), you might care to see if you can hear a repeat of this afternoon's (Friday 5th July,1.30pm) issue of "Feedback", broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

During the course of this it emerged that listeners who go to the BBC main web site in order to hear BBC radio transmissions, or recordings of the same from archives, are informed that they can do this only by downloading some software from a company in the USA - I think the software is called "Real-Play".

A correspondent to "Feedback" revealed that this software has built in to it various functions other than its ostensible purpose, specifically: it will monitor a user's computer activity (whether just web site access only or e-mails activity as well was not made clear) and transmit to the software company details of this activity so that (among other things) a profile of the users' interests can be built up. This data is then sold on to facilitate the transmission of unsolicited commercial 'spam'.

I would imagine that this would be the least malignant of the uses to which the implants in this software would be or could be put . . . all of which is in contravention of the UK's Data Protection Act. If this software company sells data to commercial firms then it will have no scruple in selling data to various government (and not just the US government!) and also to private intelligence agencies.

As we know from investigations which the followed the 11th September event, Israeli computer and telephone companies are already extremely active and increasingly dominant in the USA. One of them has the ability to monitor every land-line and mobile telephone call made in north America (if not further afield), including "secure" government lines to the White House, State Department, Pentagon, FBI offices, etc.

We also know from recent criminal and civil court actions against the Anti-Defamation League in the USA that the ADL is heavily into illegal and clandestine data collection on "hostile" individuals. Despite this criminality the ADL is increasingly involved in providing (for fat fees!) training courses on "anti-racism" and monitoring "hate-mongers and extremists" for a variety of American local and national law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.

This kind of activity is being replicated in Britain by the Board of Deputies of British Jews 'spook' section, the "Community Security Trust", whose operatives are trained by Scotland Yard in return for information exchanges!

The BBC does not give any warning about these implants in the notice which directs listeners to obtain and download the software it requires them to have. The "Feedback" correspondent stated that the American software producer does not draw attention to the existence of the implants and their potential uses at the time of downloading. If it appears at all, it is buried in the midst of reams of small print 'Terms & Conditions' legalistic which the average punter does not bother to plough through.

You may get a more complete and accurate account of this item if you were to go to the BBC web site, the Radio 4 section and the "Feedback" page - the address of which is, I think: <www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/feedback>.

I believe there is a video/TV programme version of this kind of software ("RealPlay"?) and I don't doubt this will have the same kind of monitoring implants as the radio version.

The BBC technical development spokesman was interviewed by "Feedback". He was obviously embarrassed by this information getting out. He said that his department was "looking at" obtaining alternative software "which respects the privacy of British listeners", but no promises were made or time-scale specified. No doubt the BBC gets a commission on the sales of this software which it promotes via its web site.

Martin Webster.