By January 15, 2015

David Cameron wants to see your browsing history

SWITZERLAND-WEF-DAVOS-CAMERONIn a disgusting announcement regarding privacy destruction David Cameron has decided that encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp and Snapchat could be banned unless they provide the government with backdoor access to user data. Cameron has said that carrying out surveillance on these services is essential for tackling terror attacks like the recent Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.

“Are we going to allow a means of communications which it simply isn’t possible to read?” said Cameron. “My answer to that question is: ‘No, we must not’.” “The attacks in Paris demonstrated the scale of the threat that we face and the need to have robust powers through our intelligence and security agencies in order to keep our people safe.”

Cameron is now championing plans to resurrect the ‘Snoopers Charter’, this allows authorities more powers concerning the monitoring of online communications requiring internet service providers, mobile phone networks and telecommunications companies to maintain records of every user’s internet browsing, social media activity, phone calls, text messages, and now, instant messages. Currently, Internet Service Providers can keep data where it has been processed for normal business purposes such as billing or marketing for 12 months, regulated by the Data Protection Act 1998.

The new proposals would require telecommunications companies to keep data that that would not ordinarily be retained for business purposes, for up to 12 months – during which time official agencies would be able to access the data. As things currently stand, the draft document does not specify which types of data firms would be obliged to keep.

The idea is that if passed in its current form, the bill would stop extremists from being able to communicate with each other without being monitored by intelligence agencies at a cost of £1.8bn over ten years. This allows extremists plenty of time to invest in some form of Virtual Private Network to avoid the Internet Service Provider from recording such communications, leaving only the law abiding open for surveillance. The UK Government would certainly not use this access to allow councils to snoop further, HMRC to monitor online transactions and authorities to search your internet browsing history for a spanking video.

 

Posted in: Editorial, News

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Seasoned tech blogger. Host of the Tech Addicts podcast.
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