This link from the British media reports that the UK government wants to implement a plan “to monitor the email exchanges and website visits of every person in the UK.” Opponents obviously see this plan as an incredible invasion of privacy. Interestingly, the article notes that this proposal is being advanced by a Conservative/Liberal Democrat government, even though these same parties opposed such a plan when the Labor party government previously proposed it.
This plan has not yet passed Parliament, and may be defeated or watered down before it becomes law. However, the fact that the UK government wants to implement such a plan means one of two things, in my view. Either it is (A) an obvious example of creeping “Big Brother” invasiveness, or (B) it means that there are threats to national and public security which are not being disclosed to the public but which are so severe and grave that the British government feels the need to implement such invasive and pervasive internet monitoring. Indeed, both of these options could be true.
The April 2, 2012 issue of the USA Today had a very brief piece about this proposal in which it described this plan as one which “could potentially keep track of every message sent by any Brit to anyone at any time [emphasis added].” If it is implemented in the UK, how long will it be until it is proposed for many other nations as well? Such a plan would appear to be forbidden by the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution, but the US Constitution seems to be increasingly disregarded by US governmental actions, so one cannot say that such a plan couldn’t happen in the USA.
There is another possibility. It may be that national governments are already doing this kind of pervasive internet monitoring, but are now seeking legal “cover” for such actions already being taken.
Revelation 13:16-18 contains the cryptic prophecy that a final “beast” system will have the power to monitor and control all economic/monetary activity on the earth. Such monitoring and control was not possible until the widespread use of the internet for all kinds of “buying and selling” within and across national borders. Increasingly, all economic “buying and selling” activities leave some kind of electronic signature or record in personal or corporate files. Given that Revelation 13 prophesies that the final, global “beast” system will be able to implement pervasive monitoring and control of economic activity, it stands to reason that it will also implement similar monitoring and control of all forms of speech and expression as well. The UK proposal for pervasive internet monitoring of everyone is a clear step in the direction of the eventual fulfillment of Revelation 13’s prophecy.
