It's been reported that the Liberal Democrat party will be pledging a crackdown on 'intimate' images of people being posted online without their consent as part of their pre-election manifesto. The move arrives just a week after Apple's iCloud was hacked and hundreds of photographs containing various A-list celebrities, including Hunger Gamers star Jennifer Lawrence, in various states of undress were leaked to the public, causing a PR nightmare for everyone involved. This 'digital bill of rights' follows a vote at this year's Lib Dems spring conference, which overwhelmingly was in favour of letting the government install safeguards against such digital crimes.
The move arrives just a week after Apple's iCloud was hacked and hundreds of photographs containing various A-list celebrities in various states of undress were leaked to the public
According to Julian Huppert, the party's home affairs spokesman, the proposal, which will include legislation to make so-called “Revenge Porn” a punishable and prison-worthy offence, has been made “Even more necessary” by the recent hacks. The proposition will also see an increase in internet surveillance, something which might raise a few hackles considering it essentially means invading our privacy in order to protect it, but in this case the Lib Dems argue that the ends justify the means, and it's been insisted that police and security service surveillance powers will not be increased without parliamentary approval. The idea is to give people more control over their personal data.
Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence, just one of many celebrities whose privacy was breached in the iCloud hacks
The manifesto is expected to be submitted for approval at some point over the Autumn conference, which takes place in Glasgow between the 4th and 8th of October. The manifesto which also includes an £2000 rise in personal tax allowances and an extension to the free school lunches programme, was meant to be launched last week, but was delayed as party leader Nick Clegg was forced to attend an emergency meeting. Huppert said that the party believes "Protecting people's privacy is an essential part of building the society we want to live in, and when people violate that, there have to be proportionate powers available to hold those responsible to account."
Julian Huppert said that the party believes "Protecting people's privacy is an essential part of building the society we want to live in.”
The hack, which has been gifted some rather salacious nicknames by knuckle-dragging internet trolls, was a monumental farce, which made everyone involved look bad. Representatives for Lawrence went so far as to threaten anyone posting the image with legal action and Apple hilariously attempted to downplay concerns about the safety of the iCloud. They assured users that the hack was due to a “Common” attack on user names, passwords and security questions.
Official Liberal Democrats Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK who thinks that Nick Clegg looks like a geography teacher.
