Erasing David - The Documentary

[Video - Erasing David Trailer by Green Lions on Vimeo]

As noted by Spy Blog on Friday, in the lead up to the General Election it is crucial that we do not allow our very real concerns over privacy and personal freedom to be overlooked or sidelined by the candidates seeking our votes. In this regard the forthcoming release of David Bond's feature length documentary Erasing David is particularly timely.

Bond's decision to make the film came after his having received a letter back in 2007 notifying him that his daughter was among 25 million individuals to have had their personal data lost by HM Revenue & Customs. His aims were to find out the extent to which it was still possible to live anonymously in the UK, and to test the ideological view that "if you have nothing to hid, you have nothing to fear". To achieve this he hired a team of private investigators to find out everything they could about him and track him down while he attempted to evade them for thirty days. From the conclusion of the film's synopsis we learn:

Forced to contemplate the meaning of privacy – and the loss of it, David’s disturbing journey leaves him with no doubt that although he has nothing to hide, he certainly has something to fear…

The film will be released in a number of UK cinemas from the 29th of April, and will be aired on More 4 at 10pm on the 4th of May.

In the meantime you may wish to consider the Big Brother Watch manifesto (pdf) comprised of thirty pledges that they suggest "a new administration more receptive to civil liberties" might seek to implement.

Update 22/11/2010: Erasing David is now available on DVD.