UK To Require Service Providers Monitor And Store Info On Users

from the more-data-isn't-good-data dept

Mon, Nov 9th 2009 10:28pm — Mike Masnick

Despite lots of criticism over the plan, UK politicians are moving forward with demands that online service providers store and monitor certain types of internet communications. While the government will be compensating service providers for some of this (your tax dollars at work), it's still a rather large burden on these service providers, and raises all sorts of privacy questions. Oh, and on top of all of that, we've already seen that law enforcement in the UK is struggling to cope with the fact that they're already inundated with too much data. They don't want more data, they need better data. Making service providers hang onto even more data doesn't help the situation, it just opens up the potential for serious privacy invasion.

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Filed Under: police, surveillance, uk

13 Comments

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BearGriz72 (profile), 9 Nov 2009 @ 10:44pm

Encryption Anyone
I know it has been said repeatedly here, but it is just another reason why more people will turn to Encryption, VPN, & Anonymizing Services.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2009 @ 11:01pm

As part of the Patriot act, (note small "a". I don't believe the Act was rightfully debated, and actually exists today because any discussion of the Patriot act was quickly swept away for near-hourly threats of anthrax that outlets such as Fox News were reporting at the time. And apparently they were such a threat then, and continue to occur daily today. Just sayin'...) this level of monitoring is already required by all US ISPs.

Nothing new.
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Enrico Suarve, 10 Nov 2009 @ 12:19am

There's always something to smile about
The only amusing aspect about this is that they seriously expect ISPs to be capable of getting and storing this data. This would be the same bunch of ISPs who frequently turn a simple home move to hell, lose billing records and in the case of BT get confused if more than one line goes to the same address.

They can't even manage regular data essential to their business, honestly, they seriously expect these Muppets to store and maintain secret data that will be used to spy on and incriminate me?

Hang on that's not funny after all.
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sinsi (profile), 10 Nov 2009 @ 12:25am

Drown 'em in exabytes of useless data.
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Paul, 10 Nov 2009 @ 12:33am

UK?
Tax Dollars?
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Jaws4theRevenge, 10 Nov 2009 @ 1:06am

Re: UK?
Figure of speech?
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ananon_uk, 10 Nov 2009 @ 1:07am

At the moment there has been a delay. As you might expect we are far from happy about this. The only recourse we have at the moment is that we are due a General Election some time next year. Currently we have a labour government that have done nothing but implement numerous Orwellian laws.

Come the day this is implemented i will continuously use TOR to surf the interwebs. This government has proven time & time again that they consider themselves to be unaccountable to the general public.

My main concern is that it is only matter of time before these measures are implemented not only here, but the EU and further afield. Look at retrospective Telco immunity that the USA has and that Obama himself voted for. The "transparency within government" bill has died.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/09/imp_hold/
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Call me Al, 10 Nov 2009 @ 2:37am

This doesn't surprise me in the least. Our government want to control every aspect of our lives for "security purposes". Its ironic that this is being highlighted during the celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Stasi would have given anything to have been able to access this kind of information.

Fortunately both the main opposition parties are against this development and, assuming they keep their word, they would vote against it. By the time this actually comes before parliament it will be after the next General Election, hopefully the current labour government will have been thrown out and the new Conservative government will dump it.

In the meantime I'll start some research into anonymous browsing just in case.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Nov 2009 @ 2:55am

Re:
Citation needed
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 10 Nov 2009 @ 6:24am

Re:
Yes. Fox News was the only major media that reported on the anthrax threat. Idiot! The entire media jumped on the hype. They are all in on the conspiracy...yes, there is one...shh!...I think someone is reading our comments...
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Hephaestus (profile), 10 Nov 2009 @ 6:51am

Re: Encryption Anyone
Actually what is funny is how right you are. The unintended consequences of this game of whack a mole will be an increased use of encryption. so lets use some logic ...

1) RIAA, lord M, and IFPI press for three strikes
2) people use more encryption so as to not get caught
3) MI5 and MI6 dont want and cant deal with all the encryption
4) terrorists get away with some horrible plot and kill alot of people.

So logically RIAA and IFPI actual cause terrorism
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Captain Obvious, 10 Nov 2009 @ 8:34am

And I doubt that in all that anthrax reporting, the fact that the CIA admitted to being behind it all - that they sent out the tainted letters - was never mentioned.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Nov 2009 @ 9:27pm

I think the US and the UK governments should only step up their monitoring on foreign visitors and residents.
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