Though it is still a draft UK bill, would such legislative
maneuverings eventually affect your insurance premium rates if your “city-state”
decides to adopt such laws?
By: Ringo Bones
Sometimes the rule of law can be a wonderful thing given
that most of them are legislated to protect us working class folks from the
alleged tyranny of “big government” and “big corporations”, but in this day and
age, political lobbyists – especially in affluent countries – more often than not,
wield powers that would allow them to legislate laws that could exploit the
working class. And the Draft Communications Data Bill – otherwise known as the
Snoopers’ Charter – though still a UK based legislative bill, could serve as a
template to be followed by powerful political lobbyists the world over to
legislate laws that could maximize their respective corporate interests’ profits
at the expense of their ordinary working class clients.
A case in point is when your health insurance provider suddenly
increases your insurance premiums when they managed to find out, via the “Snoopers’
Charter” or a law modeled after it because they can now data mine your search engine’s
history – especially if you searched for cardiovascular related health topics
during the last twelve months. Your health insurance provider could use your search
history or your “cyber-hypochondria” as a “valid reason” to jack up your monthly
insurance premiums.
Though the UK’s Draft Communications Data Bill or Snoopers’
Charter had been “championed” by UK Home Secretary Theresa May citing terror
attacks – i.e. the 7/7 Terror Attacks - and the “UK’s burgeoning online
paedophile scene” despite protests from various civil liberties groups across
the UK. Even though the retained data may only be obtained via top-tier
judicial warrants, various unscrupulous insurance providers could hire Black
Hat Hackers to snoop on your retained search data of the last twelve months to
spy on your “online lifestyle” and use it as an allegedly valid excuse to jack
up your insurance premium rates.
