Communications Data Bill creates 'a virtual giant database'

[xxMATTGxx]

The government's Communications Data Bill will effectively create a giant database of everyone in the UK's web activities, MPs and peers have heard.

The bill would force telecoms companies to store details of internet use for a year to help combat crime.

Home Secretary Theresa May has stressed that the data will not be held on a single government database.

But security experts told the cross-party committee examining the bill it would operate in a similar way.

The communications bill was published in draft form earlier this year and is being examined in detail by a committee of MPs and peers before it begins its passage into law.

The detailed scrutiny of the bill was promised amid controversy when the measures were first floated. Some modifications to the bill may be made as a result of the joint committee's recommendations.

The previous Labour government was forced to scrap plans for a single database of telecoms records in 2009 after a public outcry and criticism from the Conservatives and Lib Dems.

The coalition has insisted it does not want go down the same route.

But its plans to beef up data retention include a "request filter", which could allow police officers, tax inspectors, the security services and other officials to trawl for information across privately-owned databases in order to build up a picture of suspects' internet browsing habits, contacts and movements.

"By using this filter mechanism it will look and feel the same as if there was a great big database behind the scenes that you could dip into to pull the particular information you want," said Dr Julian Richards, co-director of Buckingham University's centre for security and intelligence studies.

He said filter was "a slightly inaccurate word" for what was being proposed and search engine would be a "a more accurate description".

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18884460

Alternative Article: http://www.neowin.net/news/the-uk-wa...internet-usage


Yay for the UK :rolleyes: - Looks like it's getting even more closer to being put into place.

[redtom]

Really don't get why we're putting up with this crap. The police and government are created by the people as part of a free democracy to help protect and better the lives those within it, where as we're letting the police and government oppress us and openly invade our privacy.

[Recursion]

Really don't get why we're putting up with this crap. The police and government are created by the people as part of a free democracy to help protect and better the lives those within it, where as we're letting the police and government oppress us and openly invade our privacy.

By the way the BBC article was worded, our government seems to think we're ******* morons.

This is outrageous.