The government of the United Kingdom has formally passed the Snoopers’ Charter, which will enable the recording of every internet customer’s web history.
In 2012, then-home secretary (and now Prime Minister) Theresa May introduced the ‘Snoopers’ Charter’; a new law officially known as the Draft Communications Data Bill which would give government agencies far wider access to not only phone records, but further browsing activity, text messages, and social media updates.
The Snoopers’ Charter was widely condemned by various internet companies such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter and some homegrown privacy groups, the law was at first blocked by Liberal-Democrat coalition partner Nick Clegg.
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Four years later, Theresa May’s government has now officially passed the bill.
May, in an interview with the BBC, defined the Snoopers’ Charter as a boon to state security, citing that “A Conservative government would be giving the security agencies and law enforcement agencies the powers that they need to ensure they’re keeping up to date as people communicate with communications data”.
Chiefly, the law would force internet providers to record every internet customer’s top-level web history in real-time for up to a year, after which that data would be accessible to several government departments.
Further, UK government will now be able to force companies to decrypt data on demand while companies will have to disclose new security features in products before they launch. That power will be supplemented by giving intelligence agencies the authority to hack into the computers and/or devices of citizens.
If there is an upside, the Snoopers’ Charter ensures that some professions – such as journalists or medical staff – will benefit from marginally heightened protections.
The bill, despite the fact that it has now been passed, was widely opposed by representatives of the United Nations and a host of major technology companies.
In an open letter, the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook argued that “We do not want there to be any doubt about the strength of our concerns in respect of the idea that the U.K. government would seek to impose an order on a company in respect of services which are offered by service providers outside the U.K… The internet is still a relatively young technology. It brings enormous benefits to citizens everywhere and is a great force for economic and social development. The U.K. has rightly positioned itself as a leading digital nation.”
“There are risks in legislating too early in this fast-moving area that can be as significant as the risks of legislating too late”, the letter concluded.
Both the aforementioned companies as well as several privacy groups have argued that the bill’s passage into law will result in a flood of nations seeking access to company-stored data, and will additionally – but no less importantly – jeopardize freedom of expression on the internet.
While the move could feasibly help law enforcement monitor and prevent national security threats, the UK’s Information Commissioner, Sir Christopher Graham, cited that serious criminals could avoid monitoring by modifying their online behaviour or could start using smaller internet service providers – which use encryption-based technologies – to avoid being flagged by authorities.
The law is set to be ratified by royal assent in the coming weeks, and will herald the beginning of Theresa May’s £1.8 billion communications data plan – the exact particulars of which are yet to be disclosed by her government.
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What are your thoughts on the passage of the Snoopers’ Charter into law? Is this the beginning of a wider clamp-down on internet freedom, or a valuable step in securing the web? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
Source: ZDNet
