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Note: This article is from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
(from London’s Daily Telegraph, Telegraph.co.uk) – The British government is preparing a major expansion of its powers to monitor the email exchanges and website visits of every person in the UK, it was reported [on Sunday].
Under legislation expected [to be announced next month], internet companies will be instructed to install hardware enabling the GCHQ [Government Communications Headquarters] – the British Government’s electronic “listening” agency – to examine “on demand” any phone call made, text message and email sent, and website accessed in “real time,” The Sunday Times [of London] reported.
A previous attempt to introduce a similar law was abandoned by the former Labour government [holds similar beliefs to Democrats/liberals in the U.S.] in 2006 in the face of fierce opposition.
However, ministers* believe it is essential that the police and security services have access to such communications data in order to tackle terrorism and protect the public. [*Ministers are similar to the heads of U.S. Congressional committees. They are members of parliament appointed by the Prime Minister to head various government departments including Defense.]
Although GCHQ would not be able to access the content of such communications without a warrant, the legislation would enable it to trace people whom individuals or groups are in contact with, and how often and for how long they are in communication.
The [British] Home Office [similar to the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security] confirmed that [the government is] intending to [pass the law] “as soon as parliamentary time allows.”
“It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public. We need to take action to maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes,” a spokesman said.
“Communications data includes time, duration and dialing numbers of a phone call, or an email address. It does not include the content of any phone call or email and it is not the intention of Government to make changes to the existing legal basis for the interception of communications.”
Nick Pickles, director of the Big Brother Watch campaign group, said: “This is an unprecedented step that will see Britain adopt the same kind of surveillance seen in China and Iran. [It] is an absolute attack on privacy online and it is far from clear this will actually improve public safety, while adding significant costs to internet businesses.”
He questioned: “If this was such a serious security issue, why has the Home Office not ensured these powers were in place before the Olympics?”
Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, [noted] that both the Conservatives [similar to the Republican party in the U.S.] and the Liberal Democrats [similar to the Democratic Party in the U.S.] had resisted the plan when they were in opposition.
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Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from the Telegraph. Visit the website at telegraph.co.uk.
Questions
1. What will the proposed new legislation in Britain require internet companies to do?
2. a) For what reason do ministers say the security officials need this law?
b) What explanation and clarification did a spokesman for the British Home Office make about the law?
3. Define warrant.
4. a) What is the GCHQ?
b) What will the legislation enable GCHQ to do?
c) What couldn’t it do under this law?
5. Read the “Background” under the questions. Under this new legislation, internet companies will be instructed to install hardware enabling GCHQ to examine “on demand” any phone call made, text message and email sent, and website accessed.
a) Do you think it is possible for a similar law to be passed in the U.S.? Explain your answer.
b) Should a similar law be passed in the U.S.? Explain your answer.
Background
WEB SURVEILLANCE: Q&A — On new Government powers to monitor the email exchanges and website visits of every person in the UK could affect citizens of Great Britain. (from an April 2 Telegraph article)
What is being proposed?
The British Government wants to be able to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK as they happen.
Why is this needed?
The Government claims that being able to see who is talking to whom and what they’re doing generally would allow security services to spot potential risks earlier on.
What happens currently?
A magistrate [judge] must approve each individual request for records to be turned over to the police or other authority. Records are not available for immediate inspection. The new proposals could provide a ‘mirror’ for GCHQ to see all traffic instantly.
Does this mean the state can read my emails?
No – there’s a difference between ‘contact’ and ‘content’ – so the Government will only be able to see where you’ve been online, or who you’ve been emailing, not what you’ve been saying. This change is raising privacy concerns, however, because the [British] state can currently effectively see the outside of every letter’s envelope, but not the contents. The new proposals would be analogous to asking Royal Mail to keep a copy of everything that it handles, and make it available to Government on request.
What does the Government want to include?
There’s not a lot of confirmed detail around, but the spirit of the idea is everything, from Facebook messages to Skype Instant messages.
Who would do this?
The aim is for internet service providers to keep a copy of everything, which the Government can then access on demand. Content, however, would still need a warrant.
Who would pay?
Most ISPs do not need to keep anything currently, as websites track users themselves for commercial purposes. Costs could be substantial. Historically, something like this would be covered by Government rather than ISPs, s taxpayers would foot the bill.
Would it be easy to circumvent this?
Probably – China’s ‘Great Firewall’ is routinely circumvented by users with “proxy servers” which hide users’ true locations and identities.
Are there technical barriers?
Yes – secure networks such as BlackBerry, websites that use ‘secure socket layer’ (SSL) technology, as well as the fact that there’s no sure way of knowing who actually owns a web-based email address will all pose problems. It’s also not certain how this would apply to Skype calls, for instance.
When is the new legislation likely to appear?
It could be announced [at the opening of Parliament] in May.
Resources
Visit the GCHQ website at: gchq.gov.uk.
Visit the Big Brother Watch website (purpose is to defend civil liberties and protect privacy in Britain) at: bigbrotherwatch.org.uk
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