Comments on: Big Brother Starts Here: Netherlands to Monitor Motorists’ Movements

By: Martin Schwoerer

Martin Schwoerer — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:18:36 +0000

Hey guys, I understand where you are coming from, but us “Euro sods” have strict data privacy laws.

“The right to data privacy is heavily regulated and rigidly enforced in Europe. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provides a right to respect for one’s “private and family life, his home and his correspondence”. – Wikipedia.

Not wanting to start a flame war, but we still have things like Habeas Corpus rights too, you know. Unlike some places I could think of.

By: TomAnderson

TomAnderson — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:13:23 +0000

I guess “1984″ isn’t required reading in Dutch schools…

By: yankinwaoz

yankinwaoz — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:46:42 +0000

#3 nailed it. I was wondering the same thing. How hard would it be to disable the GPS device?

Will their cars require a comparison of GPS recorded miles against the odometer?

What if the device “breaks”?

By: dean

dean — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:24:09 +0000

That is scary shit. Pardon the language.

By: chalmers

chalmers — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:13:14 +0000

I kind of prefer a system that taxes people based on their usage, as opposed to a flat tax; but obviously the privacy thing is a big problem.

I have another question…How are they going to control non-Dutch cars? I can’t imagine a European country that wouldn’t tax foreign cars, but this system doesn’t seem to take that into account…

If I lived in the Netherlands, I’d start comparison shopping for a GPS jammer now and beat the rush…’cause you know the [black] market for those things is going to be huge.

By: glenn126

glenn126 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:03:18 +0000

Ve haf vays of makink yu taak, aw-tow! (Oh, that’d be Germany). Meh, that’ll be next week’s headline.

Heil the state!!! All heil the all powerful state!

Poor Euro sods.

By: sk8inkid

sk8inkid — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:35:55 +0000

Wow. Speeding tickets anyone?