Privacy expert Simon Davies, owner of the blog Privacy Surgeon, has decided to turn the tables on the governments who make up FIVE EYES, the alliance of intelligence agencies from the US, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.  He has offered a reward of $1000 to anyone who provides him with biometric data (such as a used water glass with fingerprints and DNA, or a strand of hair) from any senior intelligence officials in those agencies.

Davies claims that his objective is not to use the data for anything, but simply to “send a potent message to intelligence chiefs that personal information must be treated with respect. The aim is to raise their level of awareness and sensitivity, not to exploit the data. Indeed, once the acquisition has been fully verified, the data – and the associated receptacle – will be publicly destroyed.”

Of course this exercise is entirely in the public interest, and don’t let anyone persuade you otherwise. All of us desire a safe society based on highly trusted security procedures, so you’re merely doing your bit to help this global effort. This isn’t about being mischievous; it’s about being responsible citizens…As for the DNA and fingerprint data, these – like the data which are so routinely exploited by those agencies – are open season. Agencies that claim the right of unconditional access to the trails we leave behind are not in any position to assert the privacy of their own “incidental” personal information. We love irony at that scale. And hypocrisy has never been a friend to privacy.

Oddly enough, it’s not the first time such a concept has been proposed.  In 2008, Privacy International and NO2ID offered a reward for any senior UK ministers after the British government introduced a plan for mandatory fingerprinting for national ID cards.  The water glass of the Home Secretary was obtained at a conference.

This bounty hunt has rules, as well.

• Bounty money is entirely provided by Simon Davies (the Privacy Surgeon) and is awarded at his discretion and subject to the conditions below.
• A bounty will not be awarded where the acquisition of data or a physical item is believed to be in violation of criminal law.
• Supporting evidence must be submitted in the form of a visual image and/or statements from credible witnesses.
• Submitters should contact the Privacy Surgeon to arrange secure transportation of the material.
• Biometric data is unstable and vulnerable, and should be handled with care. Any item containing this data should be stored inside a larger receptacle to avoid air and skin contact.
• This is a high-cost action with a limited budget. Only a limited number of bounties can be paid.

Somewhere, Toby Keith’s song “How Do You Like Me Now?” is playing.