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UK Government Surveillance - Book It Online (!) 24

Chris writes "The UK Government Home Office has published new forms on line for government bodies to use, when embarking on directed or covert surveillance and investigation of UK citizens. A small piece of eGovernment in motion, but appearing in stark prominence at this moment in time. PublicTechnology reports on the details of these forms, especially in light of the topical Hutton inquiry which is dragging even Prime Minister Tony Blair into the quest to 'urgently conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly'.."
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UK Government Surveillance - Book It Online (!)

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  • we can convince them to pay us some of the
    UK Pounds that would otherwise be spent on
    surveillence / data gathering - ie if -we-
    fill-out all the forms ourselves, eh? ;-)
  • (B'da, b'da, bda, b'that's all folks...)
  • ...which is dragging even Prime Minister Tony Blair into the quest to 'urgently conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly'.."

    Newsflash, the Hutton report is due to be released any day now which is the conclusion to the investigation.

    And Blair hasn't been 'dragged in'. He's promised to resign if the report finds him guilty of lying.

    More information [scotsman.com]
  • by torpor ( 458 )
    Great, now I'm gonna get all sorts of abuse from this open port.

    I can see it now ... "UK Police Enlargment Pills", "Guaranteed Police Enlargement", "My Police Never Felt Bigger" ... gah!

    Time to re-apply for that penguin-counting position on Antartica...
  • Citizenship (Score:1, Interesting)

    by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )
    ...investigation of UK citizens...


    Technically, in the UK we are subjects of the Queen, not citizens of the state. Once, we did have a civil war and abolished the monarchy, but eventually had it back. In that respect, we are fairly unique among western European nations.

    • ...and it's probably still on the statute book that no Roman Catholic is allowed to be king, or prime minister, or have any other high office.

      I might not like many things about America, but at least when someone introduces stupid laws, you can still raise a class action and sue.

      My childhood dreams of ministerial status were wrecked when I was told I wasn't allowed any real power in this 'democracy'

      Humph!

      • ..and it's probably still on the statute book that no Roman Catholic is allowed to be king, or prime minister, or have any other high office.

        Recent ex-leader of the Opposition Iain Duncan Smith was a Catholic as is Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats. Jack Straw is Jewish. There's no legal bar to to high office for those who practice non-Establishment religions.

        As for the monarch, it stands to reason. The other role of the monarch is head of the Church of England. That pretty well rules ou

    • The British Nationality Act 1948, We became "Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies". Then again in 1981 it was buggered about with to stop all the undesireables from immigrating and those with the right of abode became "British Citizens".

      We're still subjects, but "British Subject" includes those with right of abode *and also* those from the colonies who don't have the automatic right of abode in the UK.

      It's all a bit of a fudge and not much of a benefit with the current bunch of control freaks in po
  • New link location (Score:4, Informative)

    by schmaltz ( 70977 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @12:13PM (#7963112)
    Somehow the PublicTechnology link referenced above points to a blank page. Here's the real article:

    http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=m od load&name=News&file=article&sid=443

    Text:

    Government surveillance of citizens. Book it online... (yes, really)

    Print article Email article to a friend This was published: 2004-01-13 07:05:00
    The Home Office has published new forms on line for government bodies to use, when embarking on directed or covert surveillance and investigation of UK citizens. A small piece of eGovernment in motion, but appearing in stark prominence at this moment in time. It may be security, but being so clinical reads too close for comfort.

    PublicTechnology is interested to read the details of these forms, especially in light of the topical Hutton inquiry. Big brother, watching and hacking? It's legal and here are the forms to prove it.

    On the Home Office's web pages for these forms, there's a 'useful links' box, which when we looked at the pages contained broken links to the only (crucial for form users and the public) guidance notes which seemed visible -the "Code of Practice - Covert Human Intelligence", and "Code of Practice - Covert Surveillance". It's easy to work out the syntax for the URLs, so try these links instead: Code of Practice - Covert Human Intelligence and Code of Practice - Covert Surveillance

    Reading through forms and guidance notes makes one realise the extent of possible 'big brother' investigation by a wide range of public sector organisations outside the police and MOD.

    Two Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) notices have been created under section 22(3) and section 22(4) of the Act. RIPA provides for, and regulates the use of, a range of investigative powers, by a variety of public authorities.

    The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) provides for, and regulates the use of, a range of investigative powers, by a variety of public authorities. It updates the law on the interception of communications to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet. It also puts other intrusive investigative techniques on a statutory footing for the very first time; provides new powers to help combat the threat posed by rising criminal use of strong encryption; and ensures that there is independent judicial oversight of the powers in the Act.

    Part I relates to the interception of communications and the acquisition and disclosure of communications data. Part II relates to the use of covert surveillance, agents, informants and undercover officers. Part III covers the investigation of electronic data protected by encryption. Part IV provides for independent judicial oversight of the powers in the Act. Part V covers miscellaneous and supplemental matters such as consequential amendments, repeals and interpretation.

    The forms linked to below are standard forms for use by all public authorities who are listed in Schedule 1 of RIPA. The forms are an indication of the information required before an authorisation can be granted and are consistent with the requirements in the codes of practice. The Home Office recommends that all users of the form should add any information that is relevant to their organisation but avoid taking any information out of the form.

    The forms do not apply to the following who have separate arrangements for the grant of authorisations under Part II of RIPA, they are: Police forces, the intelligence services, the armed forces, HM Customs and Excise and the Ministry of Defence.

    Related links to this story:

    RIPA Notice Under s22(3)
    RIPA Notice Under s22(4)

    Directed Surveillance
    Application for Directed Surveillance Authorisation
    Review of Directed Surveillance Authorisation
    Cancellation of Directed Authorisation
    Renewal for Directed Surveillance Authorisation

    Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS)
    Application for conduct-use of CHIS Authorisation
    Review of CHIS Authorisation
    Renewal for CHIS Authorisation
    Cancellation of conduct-use of CHIS Authorisation

    Background notes on this story:
    • Interception of communications sounds pretty scary. I've nothing to worry about though, no way would they be interested in monitoring my communi.....

      NO CARRIER
  • It's gone much further than forms. There's an effort underway to develop a worldwide XML-based infrastructure for surveillance.

    This is not a joke. This is being implemented. A sizable infrastructure for authorizing wiretaps in high volume with minimal oversight is going into place.

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