Big Sister or Nanny State?

The government will be able to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK under new legislation set to be announced soon.

Internet firms will be required to give intelligence agency GCHQ access to communications on demand, in real time. The Home Office says the move is key to tackling crime and terrorism, but civil liberties groups have criticised it.

The new proposed law - likely to be announced in Queen's Speech in May - would not allow GCHQ to access the content of emails, calls or messages without a warrant but it would enable intelligence officers to identify who an individual or group is in contact with, how often and for how long. They would also be able to see which websites someone had visited.

In a statement, the Home Office said action was needed to "maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes".

APA accepts the need to detect crime and prevent terrorism but will ask government to ensure it builds in as many safety measures into the act as can be achieved. Gareth Osborne said: “The growth in the principles of ‘Freedom of Information’ has already created a society in which peoples private details can be assessed or purchased commercially and it isn’t always healthy to make the details of the innocent many so freely available to the unscrupulous few.”

Member’s views are welcomed.

APA