The European Union is laying the foundation for an agreement that will allow law enforcement officials to eavesdrop on Internet, fax and mobile phone conversations and will force the communications providers to foot the bill.The plan, known as Enfopol 98, was tabled behind closed doors by the European Justice and home Affairs Council in December. Its purpose is to combat serious crime, such as drug trafficking, child abuse and terrorism.

What concerns many people is that there is no clear definition of what constitutes a serious crime, and that law enforcement officials do not have to obtain a court order before an interception. "Anybody or any company involved in any crime can be tapped," said Mr. Tony Bunyan, director of Statewatch, the London-based civil liberties group. "It's simply at the discretion of the police officer concerned."

Enfopol will enable police to track and record e-mail and mobile phone calls across international boundaries through real-time remote access points or backdoors. For instance, Internet service providers must provide police forces with access to their computer systems so that they can track e-mail traffic. The agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding between Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. So law enforcement officials from any of these states can eavesdrop on each other's citizens.

Communications services are increasingly using cryptography (codes) to protect the privacy of communications. If they do, Enfopol says the codes must be broken and information supplied in audible or legible form. "The downloading of cryptographic key material should be immediate," it says, so that "an efficient, economic and current operation is guaranteed."

To make the new tapping system simple and fast to operate, a secret expert group has been developing a "tag" system that can identify individuals wherever they are. Called the "International User Requirements for Interception" (IUR), the data to be passed from country to country include not only names, addresses and phone numbers, but credit card numbers, PIN codes, e-mail addresses, and computer log-on identities and passwords.

Tapping centers will have to be sent information not only about ordinary phone calls, but also about conference calls, redirected calls, unanswered calls and even when phones are switched on. Mobile phones will be used to track a target's movements.

Privacy outside the home is almost extinct. The number of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in Britain's public places has now passed 1 million, according to industry figures. So dense is the network that in many urban areas people may be monitored from the moment they step out of their front door and be kept under observation on their way to work, in the office and even in a restaurant if they choose to dine out. Over the course of a day they could be filmed by 300 cameras. Barbara Morgan, director of the CCTV User Group, said: "There are more cameras here in proportion to the population than anywhere else, including the United States. The UK is the largest user of CCTV in the world."

The latest figures show that, in cities, people are captured on film at least once every five minutes; the rate drops only slightly in smaller towns. The figures were calculated by Dr. Clive Norris, a criminologist at Hull University who is to publish a book called The Maximum Surveillance Society. Norris said: "A million cameras could be a conservative estimate. On an average day in London, or any other big city, an individual is filmed by more than 300 cameras from 30 different CCTV networks. The filming goes on throughout the day, and in some areas, such as the London Underground, it is constant."

Even the ordinary cameras common on British high streets are capable of amazing feats. Many have zoom lenses powerful enough to read a newspaper headline at 100 yards. Others can be connected to computers with software capable of recognizing vehicle number plates or the faces of criminals. A potentially controversial application for CCTV is being pioneered by Virgin Megastores, where managers use cameras to monitor who their customers are and how they make their choices.

In Arizona, some supermarkets now require a fingerprint before they will cash a customer's check. In Japan, companies use eye scans to ensure security. New York State keeps the genetic records of all convicts on file to aid crime detection. Around the world, new technology is allowing corporations and governments unprecedented ability to fight fraud, detect scams, and enhance security. But the technology that tracks suspected terrorists and tells marketers that people who drive old Volvos are more likely to eat fat-free yogurt may also be creating a new "surveillance society."

As public and private agencies collect motor-vehicle data, medical records, even the fingerprints of millions of people--and sift it with microsecond efficiency--such data could eventually be pieced together to determine who gets a job, a loan, or a health-insurance policy. Unless societies are vigilant, experts warn, the notion of living a private life, where some things are nobody's business but your own, will not survive the next century.

(David:) Big Brother and Big Corporation joined forces a long time ago. They're both controlled by Big Satan, the big Dragon who runs the kingdoms of this world, and delegates that power to the men who will bow down and worship him. So Big Brother is watching, but the biggest Brother of all is watching him--God! And when the Enemy has fulfilled God's plan and filled up his own cup of iniquity, God will just swat him down and toss him in the Bottomless Pit for a thousand years, while the Antichrist and False Prophet go for a swim in the Lake of Fire! God is watching the watchers, and nothing they do escapes His gaze. He's also protecting and keeping His children, thank the Lord. Please give Him your cooperation by being security-conscious though, okay? Thanks! I love you!

WAKE UP FOLKS!