Saving Privacy

An interesting piece in today's Times by Nigel Shadbolt, who is a professor of AI at Southampton University. He argues that advances in technology are eroding privacy at an alarming rate. In response he proposes nine measures.

1. The commissioning of a report on privacy similar to Baroness Warnock's on fertilisation and embryology.
2. Oblige government and private companies to inform the public in the event of data breaches.
3. All government departments controling large databases to appoint a 'privacy officer'.
4. Written procedures to manage, monitor and report on the accuracy of the personal data held.
5. Regular auditing of government departments to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act, the results of which would be published.
   
6. Routine open access to government data on schools, health, transport and commerce.
7. All Freedom of Information Act requests and results to be made available in web accessible formats.
8. Insist on proportionality in cases of surveillance.
9. Rule employer use of social networking information as inappropriate.

Are some of these too elaborate to be practical? Or is it rather that surveillance done justly, or centralising information justly, requires much more effort than is being spent at the moment?