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By Sally Watson, 10 January 2000 17:34

NEWS Home Office Minister, Charles Clarke, has appealed for an industry/government partnership to help the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill (RIP) become law by the end of July. The Bill - a combination of Part III of the Ecommerce Bill and the Interception of Communications Act (IoCA) - contains legislation on ecommerce, including encryption, digital signature regulations and wiretapping on the Internet. The Bill has received widespread criticism, but according to Clarke the apparent tensions "don't accurately affect the dialogue between the government and the industry". "In our experience so far, the dialogue has been very constructive," he said. The Home Office has been working with companies like BT, Cisco, Royal Mail, the Sun/Netscape Alliance and the London Internet Exchange (LINX) to gain a better understanding of the technology industry. Clarke also answered charges brought by campaign group, Justice, in November, that parts of the Bill contravened European human rights laws. "We have studied Justice's comments carefully and have taken their views into account. We don't agree with every aspect - but we have listened to them very carefully," he claimed. He added that the HO had also been studying Demon Internet's claims that it will cost ISPs millions to provide the technology necessary to monitor Internet communications. "We've had different cost assessments from different ISPs," he said. "We think some estimates are exaggerated, but we take the issue very seriously." The Home Office plans to publish the RIP Bill later this month, but the Minister admitted it was unlikely to contain substantially different legislation to Part III of the Electronic Communications Bill. "I can't predict any significant changes," he said. Despite the new spirit of dialogue, there are no plans for another formal consultation period before the Bill enters Parliament, a move that could prove unpopular with many industry groups. "There's already been a substantial consultation period," Clarke said, "and we have to get the Bill through Parliament by the end of July - delaying it further could have a serious knock-on effect for complying with the new Human Rights Act. See also:
Controversial ecommerce laws resurface in Home Office Bill
http://www.silicon.com/a34207
DTI removes cybercrime laws from Ecommerce Bill http://www.silicon.com/a35185
The draft Ecommerce Bill: an infringement of human rights?
http://www.silicon.com/a33885
Wire-tapping laws set to cost UK ISPs millions
http://www.silicon.com/a32246