The British Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Electronic Industries went wild. Stephen Byers 'forcefully' conveyed their concerns to Straw. All Blair's chirping about ebusiness leading Britain into a century of opulent gee-whizzery suddenly had a tinny ring. It's great to have the FT and its readers on side. What is truly frightening is the ability of private and public power to stare into corners.
Millions leave democratic society behind when they go to work.
The technologies which nerdish boosters claim are bringing choice and freedom are putting powers to invigilate in the hands of managers, as well as policemen, beyond the imagination of Henry Ford. If the Government is reading emails and monitoring website hits, then so are employers. Last year, to quote one of many examples, five workers at Rolls-Royce in Bristol were fired and 10 more were punished after a search of messages found that dirty pictures had been emailed from its workstations. Yet at Rolls-Royce staff were disciplined for sending gossip on company time as well as the odd bit of filth and the firm ignored the sale of porn mags in its site shop. Reassurances that the innocent have no reason to fret also miss the psychological effect of knowing you're being watched.