UK Plans More Spying On Internet Users Under 'Terrorism' Pretext 189
Wowsers writes "In vogue with other countries cracking down on freedom and democracy on the internet as discussed in Slashdot recently, the UK is joining in with plans to track all phone calls, text messages, email traffic and websites visited online, all to be stored in vast databases under new government anti-terror plans. As reported in The Telegraph, security services will have access to information about who has been communicating with each other on social networking sites such as Facebook, direct messages between subscribers on Twitter would also be stored, as well as communications between players in online video games. The scheme is a revised version of a plan drawn up by the ex-Labour government which would have created a central database of all the information. The idea was later dropped in favor of requiring communications providers to store the details at the taxpayers' expense."
Re:How far do we go to fight terrorism? (Score:5, Informative)
This isn't about fighting terrorism. its about control.
Orwell was an optimist.
Re:BB: "Inparty must continuebe goodthink!" (Score:5, Informative)
Big Brother's regime is not right- or left- wing. That's (part of) the point of the book. It doesn't even matter, it's just a dictatorship.
EU would force them to anyway (Score:5, Informative)
Even if they didn't do it themselves, they would be bound by the EU Data Retention Directive to do it [wikipedia.org].
Sweden has already got threatened with the EU high court for not implementing the directive.
I thought this sounded familiar (Score:4, Informative)
"The scheme is a revised version of a plan drawn up by the Labour government which would have created a central database of all the information.
The idea of a central database was later dropped in favour of a scheme requiring communications providers to store the details at the taxpayers’ expense.
But the whole idea was cancelled amid severe criticisms of the number of public bodies which could access the data, which as well as the security services, included local councils and quangos, totalling 653 public sector organisations.
Labour shelved the project - known as the Intercept Modernisation Programme - in November 2009 after a consultation showed it had little public support."
So it's just the same plan probably being pushed for by the same security service lobbyists for a second time, this time with more success because "the Olympics".
Re:Finally! (Score:5, Informative)
Either the state foots the bill, where you'll pay for it through taxes of the provider has to pay for it and raise the end user prices. Either way, you're the sorry bastard who'll have to pay for it.
Re:EU would force them to anyway (Score:4, Informative)
Note that the Data Retention Directive was adopted in 2005 [ffii.org] mostly due to pressure from the UK Labour government. Initially it was claimed to be anti-terrorist; those claims were then amended to anti-crime and anti-paedophile.
It's most probably aimed at quelling the civil disturbances that some authorities see as an inevitable part of our chaotic post-carbon future.