Would you share your travel plans with the government? No, me neither. However, the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has gone ahead and created an online service named Locate (now closed!) that encouraged people to register where they are going every time they travel abroad.
The service is geared towards helping people should they end up in a natural disaster or terrorist attack. From the site:
"Use our new LOCATE service to tell us where you’re travelling to so our embassy and crisis staff can provide better assistance in an emergency such as a tsunami or terrorist attack."
This could certainly give reassurance to friends and families back home that in the event of a disaster, government officials will be able to help track victims more easily.
But I don't see how this could gain any traction. There's a lot of concern in the United Kingdom about the ascending 'Big Brother' culture and the increase of government surveillance over everyday activities. Councils here are even using anti-terrorism legislation to spy on amateur fishermen!
The site states that a traveler's information is safe, as the site "will delete the details of a trip once it has ended."
I'm certainly doubtful of this, especially given the vast number of data losses the UK government has managed in the last few years. It seems the information from the Locate service would be a gold mine for burglars!
What's your thought on this service? Is it something you would use? Or is it simply another waster of tax payer money?
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