Internet Monitoring Plans For The UK

"The data includes the time, duration, originator and recipient of a communication and the location of the device from which it is made

It does not include the content of messages - what is being said. Officers will need a warrant to see that"

So wait, if the data stored does not include the content of the message, how can you possibly view the content with a warrant?

I don't agree with these plans. I don't have anything to hide, and it's because I have nothing to hide that I don't want different agencies snooping on me. I am not a criminal. And I think we all have a right to privacy.

Besides, even with my rather dull Internet habits, I can foresee how my activities could easily be misinterpreted. For example, for a previous essay I had to research how the UK perceives immigration. I ended up on the BNP website, but also a forum used by more extreme white nationalists. That was a scary place, and I legged it away pretty quickly.

Then for my next essay I had to research piracy and terrorism. So within a space of a month I was looking at a place visited by extremists, and terrorist activities.

And I've written some articles that are critical of government decisions and actions. Add all that up, and alarm bells could ring, even though I'm the type of person who won't even cross a quiet road during a red light...

I'm also a moderator on a writing website and therefore I interact through email with people from all over the world. I don't know these people. They could be anyone. They could be criminals. Same with friends I have made through Facebook gaming.

It's the beauty of the Internet that you get to speak with people from all over the world, but you don't know what these people are up to in their private lives. If they are dodgy, you will have been seen as having been in touch with them...

I don't want to spend my time online all paranoid about who I talk to and what I search for. I'm online for my studies, and work, but also to enjoy myself. Second-guessing my every move would soon get tedious.