Intellectual Property Law

The biggest surveillance story in years

By Susan Crawford

To very little uproar - that’s the problem - the UK is considering floating a bill that would centralize all data collected by ISPs.  

Can you imagine this?  The UK has had data retention laws since October 2007 that require phone companies to hang onto phone and text records, and this next step would make all of that data plus email, internet usage, and VoIP data available in a single place - accessible by a mid-level policeman who wanted to know more about his traffic-stop suspect.  Data mining for any purpose (national security, fighting terrorism, or a divorce case) would be possible, without judicial oversight.  

The UK is a very watched place.

I understand that coverage of this issue by mainstream press in the UK (and in particular the BBC) has been light.  Perhaps the civil society objections are too muted - perhaps it seems inevitable that all data will be perfectly searchable by law enforcement authorities.  There’s a good story in ComputerWeekly here, which may be an exception.  And this seems to be a summary of the bill, but I can’t find its actual text.

This is the biggest surveillance story in years.  If there isn’t uproar, the bill will be introduced as planned; if it’s introduced, it will likely pass.  Let’s hope someone is watching and objecting.

Full post as published by Susan Crawford Blog on May 22, 2008 (boomark / email).