Are those of us in the United Kingdom being spied upon?
Well - the Draft Investigatory Power Bill has now been announced. Details of UK website visits are to be stored for 12 months. All service providers must store everyone's internet activity. This will be available to intelligence officers or police and every site we visit will be visible to them. This includes both broadband and mobile phone providers.
Here is how our movements will be stored - as reported by the BBC
"The bill would oblige broadband and mobile phone providers to hold connection records for 12 months and then delete them "in a way that ensures access is impossible".
The bill recognises that an IP address can sometimes be simultaneously shared by different customers, so additional information would also have to be recorded.
To be clear, the authorities would still need a warrant to make service providers store and hand over browser history - eg which specific Facebook pages or tweets had been looked at.
That means, for example, they would be allowed to learn someone had used Snapchat at 07:30 on their smartphone at home and then two hours later visited Facebook's website via their laptop at work.
It may sound fairly innocuous - but of course many people have internet habits that are legal but nevertheless very private. So, is their privacy being put at risk?"
Entering someone's computer or mobile phone is incredibly intrusive. Given the recent hacking into various company records, how should we feel about further data being stored?
All the above, obviously, is in the name of security and counter terrorism, however does this matter of intrusion cause you concern?
Recent Comments
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I absolutely hate all of this we are told we live in a free country but when everything you do even in the supposed privacy of your own home can be checked how free are?. I just recently re-read 1984, when I first read it it seemed a bit far fetched, now not so much.
Thanks to everyone who has left comments here. And so - will I ever look upon my phone, email etc the same way - probably not!! The effects of government surveillance!!!
great film! Edward Sowden stayed here in Hong Kong before going to Russia.I didn't see him unfortunately.
The same here in Australia. If you are doing every thing right then you have nothing to worry about. We are over governed now a days. We may as well be in a communist country.
I want to be safe from terrorists but also want to be safe in my home.
Sometimes all this stuff makes me think of peeping toms, somebody looking through your window. They arrest those people don't think?
It's hard to imagine the system that the government could come up with that would be safe, keep us safe but also not intrude in the lives of people that just want to make friends, make money or do things that are totally legal! (Where is that sweet spot, where we can feel safe but also still have our freedom?)
I think the horse has bolted some time ago . The internet is evolving at such a hectic pace . Governments are passing legislation which at the time of its enactment is already obsolete . The elephant in the room is that the data that is collected , how can it's integrity be guaranteed . I am sure providers and authorities are beyond reproach . Are they not , yeah / nah . Maybe.
what's to say they are not spying on us now,, anyhow I have nothing to hide so they can just get on with it,, can you imagine keeping tabs on everyone online every minute of the day it is some task, it is supposed to be minimal information time will tell I guess... so smacks of big brother eh
Yes - big brother indeed. I too don't have any issues and they sure have a lot of saving and tracking to do on my account - I am online, every day for most part of the day!!! It does feel somewhat strange though, to think that everything you do is tracked.
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Of course it's concerning and I live in the states. Over here they don't even pass a bill, they just threaten the internet entities and take what they want. As far as privacy is concerned, though, they say there are triggers, certain words or phrases that garner their attention and further investigation. They will be quick to add that if you're not doing anything wrong, you won't get into any trouble. We know that is not entirely true, but even if it were......The truth of the matter is, if people would leave other people alone, and not try to violently change a country's ethos none of this would be happening. Politicians are more scared than anyone because they have so much more to lose. The ultra will take care of themselves and the ultra poor just don't give a damn anymore.