The UK government is considering moves to calm the fears of Internet service providers over the potential cost of meeting the requirements of its new electronic bugging legislation.
The UK government is considering moves to calm the fears of internet service providers (ISPs) over the potential cost of meeting the requirements of its new electronic bugging legislation.
In detailed Commons committee debates last week, junior justice minister Jane Kennedy signalled a prospective government U-turn on the forthcoming Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill.
The proposed legislation will require ISPs to provide facilities to intercept emails - or future electronic communication formats - for surveillance organisations such as the police.
"If we have not made it clear that the government will meet marginal costs, it may be possible to include a provision to that effect in the Bill," Kennedy told MPs.
The undertaking represents a huge step away from the Home Office's earlier stance that ISPs must follow the precedent set by the telecoms industry. This obliged the industry to cover the cost of intercepting telephone calls.
The "marginal cost" the government may cover could mean that MI5 and the police will pay for the cost of intercepting emails, but not for the capital costs of the necessary equipment.
A confidential Home Office document has already been circulated to MPs detailing the likely costs ISPs will face in meeting the Bill's requirements.
This story was republished from the 6 April issue of Computing
See also:
New Labour has promised to put the legislative and taxation infrastructure in place to make the UK the best place in the world to undertake ecommerce by 2002. But certain sectors of the IT industry are up in arms about policies which they believe are stifling innovation.
19 May 2000The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, which will give the state powers to eavesdrop on internet traffic, was amended by the government in its third Commons reading on Monday, but without satisfying its critics.
10 May 2000The UK government will come under attack again on Monday at the third reading of its controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill.
05 May 2000Critics have slammed an independent report into the UK government's proposed communications snooping bill which puts an estimated £34m price tag on the bill's implementation.
26 Apr 2000Users have attacked the UK government's draft legislation on bugging communications, claiming the proposal would give state security agencies unprecedented powers to access data.
31 Mar 2000Tumbling internet access charges in the UK could be abruptly halted if the government forces ISPs to maintain expensive email interception facilities.
24 Mar 2000The Home Office minister in charge of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill has publicly defended the controversial legislation against accusations that it breeches human rights.
23 Mar 2000Industry groups and encryption users will today get their first chance to grill UK government ministers and Home Office officials in public about the controversial communications snooping bill.
22 Mar 2000
Print
Discuss
Send to friend
RSS feeds
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
