Snooping bill put under the parliamentary microscope

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 5 Jul 2012 at 16:57

A parliamentary committee has kicked off its inquiry into the Communications Data Bill, calling the proposal to collect message data "controversial".

Last month, the Home Office detailed the Communications Data Bill, which will require online message data such as email headers and file transfers to be collected and stored, ready to be handed to policing and security authorities upon request.

You only need to have caught sight of the newspapers recently to realise that this is a controversial bill which will affect each and every one of us in some way

The joint committee - made up of Lords and MPs - is asking for public feedback on many aspects of the bill including its £1.8bn cost, whether it intrudes too much on personal privacy, and the technical feasibility of the proposal.

“You only need to have caught sight of the newspapers recently to realise that this is a controversial bill which will affect each and every one of us in some way," Committee Chairman Lord Blencathra said. "We all email, use websites and mobile phones and this Committee wants to ensure that the draft bill will ensure a sufficient balance between an individuals’ privacy and national security."

“We intend very thoroughly to examine the Government’s proposals and hope to hear from interested bodies and organisations about exactly how the changes in technology and the way we use it should be reflected in legislation about access to communication data,” Lord Blencathra added.

One of the MPs involved is Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert, who criticised the proposal when it was first detailed, and has since said "the Bill as it stands is simply unacceptable".

Any interested organisation or individual can submit evidence, and the full details of how to take part in the consultation are available online. The deadline is 23 August.