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Echelon eat your heart out
Government may hold phone, email records
DETAILS of every phone call, email and period of time spent on the internet by the public would be held on a British government database under a plan to combat crime and terrorism.
Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies would hand over the records to the Home Office, who would hold them for at least a year, The Times reported today.
Police and security services would be able to access the information with permission from the courts.
The proposal is part of a plan aimed at creating uniform record-keeping following the terrorist bombings on London's public transport system on July 7, 2005.
Since last October, telecoms companies have been required to keep records of phone calls and text messages for 12 months and police and security services can access them with a warrant issued by the courts.
Under the new proposals, that requirement would extend to internet, email and voice-over-internet use and the records would be held by the Government, rather than individual companies.
Home Office officials have reportedly discussed the option of the national database with telecoms companies and ISPs in preparation for a data communications Bill to be included in the Queen's Speech in November.
But the plan has not been sent to ministers yet.
Assistant Information Commissioner Jonathan Bamford raised concerns over a centralised database.
"We are not aware of any justification for the State to hold every UK citizens' phone and internet records,'' he told The Times.
"Holding large collections of data is always risky - the more data that is collected and stored, the bigger the problem when the data is lost, traded or stolen.''
A Home Office spokesman told the newspaper the Bill was needed to reflect changes in communication that would "increasingly undermine our current capabilities to obtain communications data and use it to protect the public''.
DETAILS of every phone call, email and period of time spent on the internet by the public would be held on a British government database under a plan to combat crime and terrorism.
Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies would hand over the records to the Home Office, who would hold them for at least a year, The Times reported today.
Police and security services would be able to access the information with permission from the courts.
The proposal is part of a plan aimed at creating uniform record-keeping following the terrorist bombings on London's public transport system on July 7, 2005.
Since last October, telecoms companies have been required to keep records of phone calls and text messages for 12 months and police and security services can access them with a warrant issued by the courts.
Under the new proposals, that requirement would extend to internet, email and voice-over-internet use and the records would be held by the Government, rather than individual companies.
Home Office officials have reportedly discussed the option of the national database with telecoms companies and ISPs in preparation for a data communications Bill to be included in the Queen's Speech in November.
But the plan has not been sent to ministers yet.
Assistant Information Commissioner Jonathan Bamford raised concerns over a centralised database.
"We are not aware of any justification for the State to hold every UK citizens' phone and internet records,'' he told The Times.
"Holding large collections of data is always risky - the more data that is collected and stored, the bigger the problem when the data is lost, traded or stolen.''
A Home Office spokesman told the newspaper the Bill was needed to reflect changes in communication that would "increasingly undermine our current capabilities to obtain communications data and use it to protect the public''.
I would be worried if I thought that they had the technical ability to make it work. Secondly of course, those who are likely to commit relevant crimes are generally pretty good at hiding their trails, so my biggest concern, once again with such silliness, is excessive cost for something that won't work.
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