Government to monitor your emails, texts and web use

The government wants to be able to read through all your texts, emails and look at what websites you have been accessing. Despite opposing it during the last government, both the Conservatives and Lib Dems are now in favour of forcing ISPs and mobile phone companies to hand over your private data to them. They'll need to obtain a warrant to look at the content of your emails and texts, although the new legislation would give the government the ability to see who you've been talking to and for how long without even having to go to court.

Of course, this is all for our own protection :rolleyes:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17576745

edit: Sign the petition!

(edited 12 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Hey, government.

Just read it.

Absoloute, pure and utter idiocy.

If it is possible for the government to monitor the e-mail, text and web use of everyone in the country via asking the ISPs to provide that information, then that equally means that they're able to monitor people who've been flagged up as being potential threats to national security.

Why then, do they do the blanket coverage? What aim does it achieve if the above alternative does exactly the same job without infringing on everyone's private information? While I don't think current government in this country is necessarily "bad/evil", it's when they bring in legislation like this that makes me question whether or not they're competant enough to actually run the country without overly interfering in people's lives.

Reply 3

TheHistoryStudent

Wait... this isn't some really really bad April Fools prank by the BBC is it?...

Reply 4

Annie72

Original post by TheHistoryStudent

Wait... this isn't some really really bad April Fools prank by the BBC is it?...

I hadnt thought of that :redface:

But anyway I think its an invasion of my privacy and the Government can get lost!!.

Reply 5

cera ess six

Thought they could do that regardless :O

Reply 6

fourdigit

Might be april fools or not, either way. If millions of people were to exaggerate on the false communication they do online, storing and monitoring won't do any justice.

Reply 7

username533239

Original post by TheHistoryStudent

Wait... this isn't some really really bad April Fools prank by the BBC is it?...

No, this has been in discussion for a long time now. And won't be happening without quite a lot of uproar from the whole country.

Reply 8

fourdigit

Original post by cera ess six

Thought they could do that regardless :O

if they did, you wouldn't be here :wink:

Reply 9

IlliteratePedant

Welcome to the British Democratic Republic.

Reply 10

Darren-M

It's being covered by a lot of news sites (ITV, BBC, The Independent) so I think it's safe to say it's not a fools, despite how much I want it to be.

No wonder the government wants to implement their own version of the HRA so they don't have obligations to Europe over it. Eugh.

Reply 11

TheHistoryStudent

Original post by Darren-M

The thing is, when you consider the vast amount of information people send and recieve via e-mail, text, and internet searches, most of it is going to be innocent harmless stuff anyway - I can't possibly understand how simply monitoring everyone is going to be an efficient way of combatting the things it's supposed to combat - serious crime and terrorism.

- *chuckles*, and check out the bottom of the article:-

"The shadow home secretary at the time, Chris Grayling, said the government had "built a culture of surveillance which goes far beyond counter terrorism and serious crime"."

Riiiight, so all of this security legislation has suddenly sprung up whilst the big evil coalition government has been in power, rather than during the last 13 years under labour which saw massive changes such as 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan, and various big terrorist attacks in the west. The hypocrisy of contemporary politics stinks.

EDIT: - ha, and this too :smile:

(from the comments) - "That most people seem to not be able to tell if this is an April fools or a real government plan really sums up British politics"

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 12

Guitarded

"Nothing to see here. Move along. Go shopping."

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 13

Guitarded

Original post by TheHistoryStudent

They won't be monitoring everyone, they'll have a list of people who pose a 'threat' (including dissidents, protesters, etc). These people who also likely be stopped every time they check in at an airport.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 14

original_username

If anyone has seen the new South Parks, I imagine the man in charge of monitoring all this stuff will be much the same as this guy:

Reply 15

TheHistoryStudent

Original post by Guitarded

They won't be monitoring everyone, they'll have a list of people who pose a 'threat' (possibly because they're dissidents, etc). These people who also likely be stopped every time they check in at an airport.

But then if they have a list - just monitor that list, don't monitor everyone else? - My understanding from that article is that they are going to store info on everyone - and hence the information is available for them to find incriminating info on everyone (although they'd have to issue a warrant first, but come on, if they can justify it with national security/serious crime - which is liable to change - they're probably going to get one). That means the vast majority of the information they will be storing will be stuff that has absoloutely no bearing on national security and/or serious crime, and hence everyone is being monitored for no good reason.

Reply 16

Akkuz

Wh..what if they see my anonymous posts in H&R? :cry2:

Very against it. Although I guess they can crack down on like child pornography circles etc. which is a good thing.

Reply 17

original_username

On a serious note, at a time where the 'threats' as they are being called are moving away from using internet and phones to plot their mischief I can't accept this as a valid reason for the law being implemented. I read recently about would be terrorists using private lobbies on Xbox live and PSN to talk about their stuff.