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By Joey Gardiner, 30 March 2000 00:25

NEWS Industry figures have told Silicon.com that the government is grossly underestimating the cost of implementing the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill. Previous government estimates put the cost of implementing the Bill in the region of £750,000, but many experts say that figure will prove to be less than one-tenth of the real figure. Even though the Home Office admitted this week that it will spend £25m on a new agency which will include RIP implementation within its remit, experts say this simply isn't enough. Brian Gladman, author of a report into the costing of the RIP Bill, said: "This is still an underestimate from the government. The true cost of implementing the Bill will run into hundreds of millions of pounds." Caspar Bowden, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, said the agency - to be called the Government Technical Assistance Centre (GTAC) - proves the government is finally waking up to the real cost of the legislation. "This also vindicates Brian Gladman's view that MPs are being kept in the dark about the sky-high costs for seizing information and keys under the RIP legislation," he added. Gladman is now calling on the government to define exactly what GTAC will do. He is also questioning whether the government can guarantee the security of keys with the proposed level of expenditure."