By Nick Heath, 15 October 2008 15:57
NEWS
The Home Secretary has stressed the need for even greater snooping powers for government.
In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research Commission today, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the introduction of new laws to monitor modern communications is necessary in order to combat terrorism and serious crime.
The Home Office is already consulting on plans due to come into effect in 2009 requiring all ISPs to keep the "who", "when" and "where" details of all web, VoIP and messaging traffic for at least 12 months, bringing the UK in line with an EU directive.
Telecoms operators are already required to store similar details of phone calls and text messages for an equivalent length of time.
In her speech today Smith suggests that forthcoming legislation will go further than simply making it a statutory requirement to retain online traffic details for at least 12 months.
She said: "The changes we need to make may require legislation. The safeguards we will want to put in place certainly will. And we may need legislation to test what a solution will look like."
Smith is thought to be referring to plans proposed under the Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP), which are believed to include proposals to siphon details of internet traffic from ISPs and store it in a central government database for at least 12 months.
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Lord West of Spithead revealed the IMP and the Communications Data Bill, due for its first reading in December, are bound together when he told parliament in July 2008 that more details on the IMP would be available after the draft bill is published this December.
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner's Office opposed the move towards a centralised database saying: "It is important to highlight that creating large collections of data is not a risk-free option.
"This not only engages concerns about unwarranted intrusion into the lives of every citizen, it also raises worries about making sure that people's personal information is properly safeguarded, is not misused and can never fall into the wrong hands."
The Home Secretary said public consultation on any legislation relating to communications retention will begin in the new year.
She added that there are no plans to keep the contents of emails, texts, instant messages or phone calls and that local authorities will not be given powers to listen in on calls.
She said: "Our ability to intercept communications and obtain communications data is vital to fighting terrorism and combating serious crime, including child sex abuse, murder and drugs trafficking.
"But the communications revolution has been rapid in this country and the way in which we intercept communications and collect communications data needs to change too."
Comments
There are 11 comments. Join the discussion
1. Karen Challinor
"The Home Office is already consulting on plans due to come into effect in 2009 requiring all ISPs to keep the "who", "when" and "where" details of all web, VoIP and messaging traffic for at least 12 months, bringing the UK in line with an EU directive."
hmmmm ... here's a question for you
is the UK actually a signatory to the agreement that produced the directive from the EU or is this our legislation and the EU is being mentioned to misdirect people into thinking it's the EU's fault ?
I believe with passport and border control legislation at least, the UK tends to shadow EU legislation without actually being a member of the Schengen agreement that would require us to do so, and there is a tendency to blame the EU for those changes as well
so is this another piece of misdirection ?
2. Richard Davies
"unwarranted intrusion into the lives of every citizen, it also raises worries about making sure that people's personal information is properly safeguarded, is not misused and can never fall into the wrong hands."
The above is something that the government can never guarentee with its past record.
Also, I think this type of crime fighting isn't really crime fighting as it should be...it really is just big brother.
To me its like carpet bombing the an entire country because there might be a terrorist...innocent people are affected and thats not right.
Why should I risk my personal data being exposed to misuse / abuse just because the government can't figure out another way?
Will the government pass another law which will prosecute any person(s) found to misuse / mis-handle this data or will it simply apologise again when it loses this data as well?
3. Charles Smith
When legislation is planned by idiots it is usually the innocent who suffer. It is ludicrously simple to avoid being traced by what is proposed by the Government.
The whole scheme is a total waste of public money, including the stealth tax imposed by higher ISP fee's.
Jacqui Smith clearly does not understand the technology that is trying to legislate.
4. anonymous
This is already happening. BT broadband, for instance, are blocking all outgoing pop3 emails unless you register the email address/domain with them so that they can associate every email address with your account.
How long before you are blocked from using these accounts online, or before you have to register every user-name on every forum?
So what next? Register all your contacts with Royal Mail in order to get your letters delivered?
Electronic tags for all? Not allowed out of the house until your destination is registered? Not allowed back in until HMG knows where you've been?
I am not a number, I am a free man....
5. Martin Anderson
Almost certainly! This government has made spin and disinformation a way of life (which has sadly been copied elsewhere). I don't think they actually know what truth is any more. Certainly I always assume that any government statement is a distortion at best, and more commonly just plain lies. It seems that the veneer is now more important that the substance, and perception more powerful than reality. It is a truly strange world we are living in.
6. GALLEYSLAVE
I would post a comment but I'm afraid that some wassock of Westminster is reading my mail!
7. Ask Jacky Smith - she
I can only make two suggestions here
1. Make sure you vote in all elections & make sure you don't vote for Labour, no matter how good a Councillor or MP the Labour candidate is
2. Until Labour are gone, lie lie & lie again on every official form & survey. They're not very bright & they'll never realise. Even if, through some miracle they finally do, they're too thick to sort it out.
8. Ian Savell
However, in reality it will be used to prosecute music downloaders and people who overfill their dustbins, not to mention damage Icelandic banks, like other so-called "anti terrorist" legislation.
Why is so much emphasis placed on terrorism when 90% of everyday crimes go unsolved?
9. Joe Whitehead
A) Despite outside appearances of behaviour, they're not idiots. Maybe immature, but definitely not stupid. Someone is doing this to line pockets. Here, we call this 'following the money'.
B) This kind of database eventually will be used to commit crimes in addition to the ones it helps prosecute/prevent.
C) Don't kid yourself - this will be used for everyday misdemeanors like jay walking.
D) Nick should be more spefic about which part of the UK government he means in the title?
10. Chris Goodman
This is not necessary in the forseeable future and will not achieve it's aims. It is very possible to use a satellite ISP not based in UK and not subject to the moronic Home Office regulation.
Perhaps if, in this period of economic difficulty, Miss Smith was to cut 20% off the Home Office payroll and then resign we would all be better off.
11. Radical Meldrew
So Jaqui says this is the only way to stop crime and terrorism? Oh really? So its not a desperate measure to improve on the chronically low rate of detection then? As 'free' citizens, can we do anything to stop this unwarranted intrusion and gradual erosion of our democratic rights; I suspect not. Very little in life is free these days and that rule will soon be applied to the voters too!