June 2000 Archives

NTK 2000-06-30 - NTK

'Our deadhead E-ENVOY finally responded to the hundreds of complaints about RIP sent to his office, by talking to a bunch of Americans about it. He said that some Britons were worried that RIP allowed "snooping on all e-mail traffic", and added the reality was "very different". He also got the name of the bill wrong, which may mean he's in a different reality himself. Some clues to this parallel universe: the same week, he told MPs that there was no reverse burden of proof in the Bill. Which is odd, because days later Lord Bassam gave an amendment which removed the nonexistent reverse burden.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:20 PM Fri 30 Jun 2000 Categories: NTK , Reverse of burden of proof

Drunks should fear RIP bill - The Register

'Tony Blair's brilliant plan to give the police the power to fine drunks £100 on the spot could provide the opportunity to show off the majesty of the government's email snooping bill.

If the pissed up punter hasn't got enough readies, the idea is that the cops will be entitled to escort them to the nearest cashpoint to withdraw the dosh.

This is where the mighty Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill could step in when it becomes law.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:17 PM Fri 30 Jun 2000 Categories: Reverse of burden of proof , The Register

House of Lords slows progress of RIP Bill - VNUNET

'Opposition lords claimed last week that there was a chance, with cross-party support, that they could make significant amendments to curb the "worst" aspects of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill. The legislation is certainly getting a bumpy ride, but it would not be the first time that proposals extending surveillance powers have been rejected.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:15 PM Thu 29 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , VNUNET

Net snooping bill 'harms business' - BBC

'A bill giving police powers to see people's e-mails will work against the interests of British industry, the government has been warned.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:12 PM Wed 28 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , Cost to industry

MP to launch RIP Bill inquiry - VNUNET

'The chairman of a cross-party information select committee is launching a parliamentary inquiry into the technical weaknesses of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:09 PM Wed 28 Jun 2000 Categories: Govt. Consultations , Reports/Equiries , VNUNET

Brits Tone Down Email Bill - Wired News

'LONDON -- The British government tabled a series of amendments to its bill allowing police and security services to view private emails on Tuesday to head off a brewing revolt in the upper chamber of parliament.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:07 PM Tue 27 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , Wired News

Govt bows to RIP pressure - The Register

'The Government is expected to table amendments to its email snooping bill today in a bid to ease mounting opposition to the draft legislation. Yesterday, Home Office minister Charles Clarke gave assurances that the changes to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) bill would help allay people's fears over the draconian proposals.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:05 PM Tue 27 Jun 2000 Categories: The Register

Industry unimpressed by RIP Bill changes - VNUNET

'In the face of mounting criticism, the government last night suggested changes to the so-called snooping bill that would soften its impact on UK businesses.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:02 PM Tue 27 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

Ministers amend net snooping legislation - BBC

'Several key changes are being made to the UK Government's controversial plans to allow the police sweeping powers to monitor e-mails. The Home Office has said that under the changes the home secretary must sign a warrant before an individual's e-mails can be monitored.' link

Posted by SteveC at 01:00 PM Tue 27 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , Reverse of burden of proof

RIP bill no match for technology - The Guardian

'The government's contentious internet surveillance bill, already under threat from the House of Lords, could be rendered unenforceable by simple security mechanisms that already exist.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:57 PM Tue 27 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , The Guardian

Ministers back down on email 'spy charter' - The Guardian

'The government is to back down following public uproar over a new security services legal framework, which critics claim will give British spies untrammelled access to email.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:56 PM Tue 27 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Guardian

U.K. pulls back on cybersnoop bill - CNN

'(IDG) -- In the face of increasing pressure from privacy groups, business groups and Internet service providers (ISPs), the U.K. government is backing away from some of the more controversial aspects of its e-mail surveillance bill currently under consideration in the House of Lords.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:53 PM Mon 26 Jun 2000 Categories: CNN , Cost to industry , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1)

RIP could scupper our e-revolution - The Observer

'[...]But in any case the Bill will have minimal effect on crime because all but the most stupid criminals will simply switch to a foreign internet service provider for their emails, if necessary via a mobile phone. It already makes sense to host your website in the United States, not only because it's usually cheaper but also because the US constitution provides far greater legal protection than in the UK.[...]' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:25 PM Sun 25 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , Surveillance & Security , The Observer

RIP could scupper our e-revolution - The Observer

'If John Carr really believes the opposition to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill is Thatcherite, élitist and anti-democratic, perhaps he should get out more. But in any case the Bill will have minimal effect on crime because all but the most stupid criminals will simply switch to a foreign internet service provider for their emails, if necessary via a mobile phone.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:51 PM Sun 25 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Observer

Big browser is watching the web - The Observer

'Type a few words into a web search-engine and you can find information on any subject in seconds. What happens next depends what one is thinking about and one's reaction to that information. RIP's proponents say the internet is like a public space, and just as the police don't need a judge's warrant merely to keep any eye on someone in the street, they must be allowed to track any person's movements as they click from website to website.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:49 PM Sun 25 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Observer

NTK 2000-06-23 - NTK

A defender for RIP! John Carr has been quick to come to the defence of the new bill, telling the OBSERVER newspaper that "Children, consumers, trading companies and financial institutions have all been targeted and harmed, some very seriously" by the evil cyberterrorists that the bill will thwart. He does this, of course, in his role as outspokensman for NCH Action for Children - and certainly not as the husband of Baroness Thornton, the peer most keen in the house get the industry to pay for RIP.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:45 PM Fri 23 Jun 2000 Categories: NTK , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1)

Lords say RIP Bill can be defeated - VNUNET

'Opposition to the UK government's so-called snooping bill is growing among members of the House of Lords, it emerged last night.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:42 PM Thu 22 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

Waugh hits out at RIP - The Register

'Yesterday, Auberon Waugh - one of the Telegraph's finest curmudgeons - took his pen to Home Secretary Jack Straw over the Government's handling of Net issues in his column Way of the World.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:30 PM Thu 22 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Register

RIP Bill needs 'a very big knife taking to it' - The Register

'The Government was today accused of damaging Britain's reputation overseas through its determination to gain snooping powers over the Net.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:25 PM Wed 21 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , Events , The Register

Net surveillance: Your questions answered - BBC

'Government minister Charles Clarke answers your questions on net surveillance.' link

Posted by SteveC at 12:23 PM Tue 20 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , RIP Oversight (Part IV)

Peers examine email tapping - BBC

'The government's bill to update security laws in the wake of the internet revolution will continue its bumpy ride through Parliament on Monday.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:33 PM Mon 19 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , Cost to industry , Privacy

Straw braced for defeat over RIP bill - The Guardian

'The beleaguered Home Office, already facing criticism over its handling of asylum seekers and football hooligans, is also bracing itself for the prospect of a swath of defeats over the regulation of the internet.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:30 PM Mon 19 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , Privacy , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , The Guardian

'Doing nothing is just not an option' - The Guardian

'Opponents of the new controls are elitist, Thatcherite and afraid of democracy' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:22 PM Sun 18 Jun 2000 Categories: Privacy , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , The Guardian

Take a tip m'lord - save cookie talk for teatime - The Observer

'...the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill winds its grisly way through the Upper House. The Bill is being shepherded through by a chap called Lord Bassam of Brighton, aided and abetted by a cove named Bach. Neither of them appears to know anything about the technology of the internet, though M'lord Bach seems to rely heavily on the advice of a Baroness Thornton, who in real life is Mrs John Carr, and thus the spouse of a well-known campaigner against child pornography on the internet. ' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:17 PM Sun 18 Jun 2000 Categories: Privacy , RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , The Observer

Net watchdog Bill faces axe - The Observer

'Jack Straw's much criticised Bill to regulate the freedom of the internet is facing disaster in the Lords as critics organise a guerrilla campaign against the Government.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:11 PM Sun 18 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , Privacy , The Observer

Our zero privacy - The Observer

'What ever you do where ever you go, they're watching you. And now they'll be reading your emails too' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:07 PM Sun 18 Jun 2000 Categories: Privacy , The Observer

New web spy system is not up to the job, say the experts - The Observer

'MI5 and the police faced embarrassment last night when electronics experts revealed that the new 'Big Brother' internet surveillance system - designed to enable them to monitor every internet user in the country - will not function properly.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:05 PM Sun 18 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Observer

A devil at every door - The Guardian

'Where New Labour has most cruelly disappointed is the speed and completeness with which it became "executive-minded". That especially marks Jack Straw and his Home Office colleagues. They slip too easily into the world view of security service directors-general and senior police officers. The state is under siege. Crime, disorder and libertinism are rife. Unless "the authorities" (a satisfying Home Office term, that) are given vast new powers to eavesdrop, discipline and investigate, chaos will ensue.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:02 PM Sat 17 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Guardian

Liberty RIP - The Guardian

'It is very disingenuous of John Abbott, head of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and home office minister Charles Clarke (Letters, June 15) to argue that the regulation of investigatory powers bill simply aims to increase the accountability of the security services. This is not true.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:00 PM Sat 17 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , The Guardian

Home Office kept busy defending RIP Bill - The Register

'Fielding opposition to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill is becoming a full-time job for the Home Office.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:41 PM Fri 16 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , The Register

Net tapping Bill fatally flawed - VNUNET

'A technical loophole that could render the Government's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill (RIP) useless has been exposed' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:36 PM Fri 16 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , VNUNET

NTK 2000-06-16 - NTK

'Oh, so *now* everyone's saying RIP's bad? As the bill enter the Lords, the Guardian ("disgraceful"), the Observer ("your privacy ends here"), the Financial Times ("objectionable"), the Independent ("crass"), the Evening Standard ("a nightmare out of George Orwell") and even Computer Weekly ("torpedo the bill") finally spotted the deliberate mistakes.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:55 PM Fri 16 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , NTK

DTI says snooping bill should be reviewed - VNUNET

'UK Trade and Industry secretary Stephen Byers said the Home Office should consider changing the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill, which will give police agencies the power to intercept email, in light of business concerns.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:50 PM Fri 16 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

We won't read your emails - The Guardian

'The regulation of investigatory powers bill continues to be branded as a "massive extension of the state's power to spy on citizens" (Leader, June 12). This bill does not introduce new powers. It does, however, update the law enforcement agencies existing and highly regulated powers to fight organised criminals exploiting developing communications technology. A warrant, signed by the home secretary, will be needed to monitor emails in the same way one is needed now to monitor communications.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:37 PM Thu 15 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , RIP Oversight (Part IV) , The Guardian

Straw enters bitter row over RIP Bill - ZDNET

'In a week when the RIP Bill has been hit by increased and often bitter criticism, enter the Home Secretary to defend the government's plans, and criticise the British Chambers of Commerce's report' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:33 PM Thu 15 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , ZDNET

RIP Bill will "cost UK economy £46 billion" - VNUNET

'The government has been warned that it risks costing the UK economy £46 billion over the next five years unless it makes substantial changes to its Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:48 PM Thu 15 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

Data protection chief swipes out at spying Bill - ZDNET

'Britain's data protection commissioner Elizabeth France hit out at the government's controversial cyber-surveillance bill Wednesday.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:31 PM Wed 14 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , ZDNET

Report says snooping bill expensive and useless - ZDNET

'The controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers(RIP) Bill will cost Britain a crippling £43bn over the next five years if made law, according to a report published Monday.' link

Posted by SteveC at 06:06 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , ZDNET

Lords to fight email tap bill - The Guardian

'The government's bill to allow MI5 access to encoded email last night faced the start of what may be a fatal drubbing from a cross-party coalition of peers concerned about both civil liberties and the security of business transactions.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:24 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Guardian

Concern over U.K. e-mail surveillance bill grows - CNN

'A surveillance bill that would give the U.K. government sweeping powers to access e-mail and other encrypted Internet communications is coming under increasing criticism from companies and organizations as the bill heads for a vote in the House of Lords this week' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:22 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories: CNN , RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1)

Please let this Bill RIP - ZDNET

"This is a pantomime horse of a Bill" said Lord McNally: "That is why we get constant references to telecommunications and postal systems which all hark back to legislation that is 15, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years old. At the back end of the horse is an attempt to deal with new technology." link

Posted by SteveC at 04:20 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , ZDNET

Net laws could cost business - BBC

'An independent study has found that controversial legislation aimed at monitoring the internet could prove extremely costly to the UK economy.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:17 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , Cost to industry

Snooping bill will cost £46bn, claims report - VNUNET

'Industry opposition to the UK government's proposed communications snooping bill has intensified following the publication of a report claiming it could cost UK business a massive £46bn over its first five years.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:15 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

Exodus threat over e-snooping -

'Internet companies may quit Britain if laws are passed to allow the official interception of e-mails, business leaders warned yesterday. They fear the costs of complying with new leglislation will make them uncompetitive, while customers will prefer to do business in countries where their online privacy is assured.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:10 PM Tue 13 Jun 2000 Categories:

Criticism of net snooping bill grows - BBC

'Business groups and politicians are queuing up to criticise the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill that extends police snooping powers into cyberspace.' link

Posted by SteveC at 06:00 PM Mon 12 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , Cost to industry

RIP comes in for roasting from former government adviser - ZDNET

'The Institute of Directors(IoD) head of e-business policy, Professor Jim Norton -- formerly head of the Cabinet Office's Performance of Innovation Unit which produced the definitive government report on e-commerce last September -- is the latest critic of the RIP (Regulation of Investigatory Powers) Bill.' link

Posted by SteveC at 05:55 PM Mon 12 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , ZDNET

Report to Lords will show extra cost of snooping bill - ZDNET

'A report to be presented to the House of Lords Monday claims the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill will cost Britain's ISPs far more than has been previously claimed by the government, according to sources.' link

Posted by SteveC at 05:51 PM Mon 12 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , ZDNET

Industry urges rethink on UK snooping Bill - VNUNET

'Business leaders have joined the growing chorus of criticism against the UK government's communications snooping bill as it enters a key stage in the House of Lords today.' link

Posted by SteveC at 05:46 PM Mon 12 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

Father of the Web lambastes cyber snooping bill - ZDNET

'British scientist Tim Berners-Lee, credited as the founding father of the World Wide Web, publicly damned British legislation proposing increased Internet surveillance and controls over online privacy Sunday.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:15 PM Mon 12 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , ZDNET

Privacy group throws book at Amazon - VNUNET

'Caspar Bowden, director of think tank the Foundation for Information Policy Research, and Conservative peer Lord Cope of Berkeley were awarded 'Winstons' for opposing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act, which empowers UK bugging of the internet. Work by Bowden and Lord Cope resulted in extra safeguards against abuse of the Act's powers.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:13 PM Mon 12 Jun 2000 Categories: Privacy International , Surveillance & Security , VNUNET

Father of the web lashes snooping Bill - The Observer

'The computer scientist who invented the technologies which underpin the web told The Observer that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill would stifle the development of the internet.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:13 PM Sun 11 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , The Observer

Why papers won't say our freedom is in peril - The Observer

'Did you know that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, in similar transition, hands MI5 the right to intercept any private email it chooses, without even prior clearance from a judge? Have you thought what that will mean for journalists' sources or for your own privacy?' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:10 PM Sun 11 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Observer

RIP Bill faces fresh attack - VNUNET

'The British Chambers of Commerce has warned the government that its proposals to allow the interception of emails by law enforcement agencies could expose businesses to breach of confidentiality charges.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:06 PM Fri 9 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , VNUNET

Pressure grows on government to scrap snooping bill - ZDNET

'The government claims its email snooping bill is necessary to keep law enforcers up to date with criminals using the Net but opponents argue it is an unprecedented intrusion on privacy. In a highly critical letter to Home Secretary Jack Straw director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Chris Humphries warns that government plans to make the UK the best place to trade electronically will be scuppered if the bill becomes law in its current state.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:04 PM Wed 7 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , ZDNET

Offshore haven - The Guardian

'The government last night poured cold water on a plan by group of entrepreneurs to establish a "data haven" on a rusting iron fortress in the North Sea in an attempt to circumvent new anti-cryptography laws.' link

Posted by SteveC at 04:00 PM Tue 6 Jun 2000 Categories: Privacy , RIP Forced Decryption (Part III) , The Guardian

BCC attacks Straw 'licence to snoop' - The Guardian

'Powers allowing Scotland Yard, MI5 and other state agencies to intercept all internet and email communications involve "a serious potential invasion of commercial privacy" and ought to be radically redrafted, the British Chambers of Commerce said yesterday' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:53 PM Tue 6 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , Privacy , The Guardian

British E-Commerce to RIP? - Wired News

'LONDON -- Draft legislation allowing security officials to monitor business emails could prevent Britain becoming a leader in e-commerce, the British Chambers of Commerce warned Monday. It said companies could face huge civil liability claims from clients who believe confidentiality has been breached by police investigation of electronic messages' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:55 PM Mon 5 Jun 2000 Categories: Cost to industry , Wired News

Snooping bill 'will harm business' - BBC

'Last week, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) wrote to Jack Straw expressing concerns about the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:48 PM Mon 5 Jun 2000 Categories: BBC , Cost to industry

Your privacy ends here - The Observer

'When you wake on Thursday 5 October next, you will find yourself living in a different country. An ancient bulwark of English law - the principle that someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty - will have been overturned. And that is just for starters. From that date also the police and security services will enjoy sweeping powers to snoop on your email traffic and web use without let or hindrance from the Commissioner for Data Protection.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:45 PM Sun 4 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Observer

Hooked on secrecy - The Guardian

'The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill extends existing bugging and tapping powers to all forms of communication, including mobile phones, emails and pictures sent electronically. The police would find it much easier to acquire data, including addresses of emails sent and received as well as websites hit and browsed by journalists, who could then no longer guarantee the security and identity of their sources.' link

Posted by SteveC at 03:43 PM Thu 1 Jun 2000 Categories: RIP Comms Data (Part I Chapter 2) , RIP Interception (Part I Chapter 1) , The Guardian