No decision has been made about requiring everyone who buys a
mobile phone to register their identity on a national database,
says the Home Office.
Government has discussed the idea of such a register in recent
talks with mobile phone operators, according to a report in the
Sunday Times.
Contingency planning is thought to be under way at Vodafone for
the move, which is aimed at keeping track of the owners of the UK's
prepaid mobile phones, the report said.
If adopted, the register would complement the proposed
central database for holding the data and time of every phone
call and e-mail in the UK.
The government has
given £1bn to the electronic intelligence service, GCHQ, to
pilot the database, which is part of plans for a new Communications
Data Bill designed to tackle terrorism and crime.
Vodafone told Computer Weekly the firm has not made any
"contingency plans" to start requiring registration for the
purposes of a government data collection scheme.
"Vodafone does support mandatory registration for its pre-pay
customers in the UK," a spokesman said.
A Home Office spokesman said no decisions have been taken on a
register of mobile phone owners.
"Of course there is a balance between privacy and our liberty
which is why we have said we will be consulting on this and seeking
a political consensus," he said.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has made a public commitment to
consulting widely before drawing up new legislation.
"We also need to agree what safeguards will be needed, in
addition to the many we have in place already, to provide a solid
legal framework which protects civil liberties," she told the
Institute
for Public Policy Researchlast week.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it welcomes the
commitment to consultation and will study carefully the details put
forward in any forthcoming legislation.
"It is important to highlight that creating large collections of
data is not a risk free option. This not only engages concerns
about unwarranted intrusion into the lives of every citizen it also
raises worries aboutmaking sure that people's personal information
is properly safeguarded, is not misused and can never fall into the
wrong hands," an ICO spokesman said.