Home Office seeking access to Internet traffic

 

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Posted on 19 Oct 2001 at 12:00

Internet Service Provides (ISPs) could be forced to save all email and Internet traffic data and allow law enforcement agencies access to the records, if proposals from the Home Office are included in the new Anti-Terrorist Bill.

Home Secretary David Blunkett revealed that the bill will include measures that will enable ISPs to retain, 'data generated in the course of their business.' Law enforcement agencies would then be permitted to search the correspondence of 'terrorist suspects'. Earlier this year the Regulation Of Investigatory Powers At laid the basis for any new powers.

Silicon.com has discovered that at least one ISP, Poptel, would take its business abroad if required to retain data, and that two others, UUnet and PSINet, would consider doing so.

Author: Simon Aughton