Widespread opposition to government plans to track people's
electronic communications has removed any chance their making the
statute before the general election.
Almost half of respondents to a
public consultation on the Interception Modernisation
Programme, the government plan to track people's e-mail and web
usage, were opposed to the plans. Of the rest, less than a third
voiced support for the specific way in which the government
proposed to do the tracking.
Home Office minister David Hanson said, "We will now work with
communications service providers and others to develop these
proposals, and aim to introduce necessary legislation as soon as
possible."
The plans will not now make it into the last raft of legislation
before the election, aired in the Queen's speech next week.
Opposition had already forced the government to drop plans for one
enormous government database of people's communications data. The
Conservatives vowed to scrap the scheme if they won the
election.
The revised plans, presented for public consultation in April,
proposed that telcos should track communications data travelling
over their networks. In 221 responses, the exercise found concerns
about whether the Interception Modernisation Programme would be
technically feasible, a burden for telcos, an invasion of privacy,
or lacking oversight and transparency.
The Information Commissioner responded: "The case has yet to be
made for the collection and processing of additional communications
data for the population as a whole being relevant and not
excessive."
Respondents suggested existing legislation might be adequate.
But the Home Office said legislation must keep up with changing
technology. The Interception Modernisation Programme would change
legislation to encompass web chat and web mail.
Fifty nine per cent of respondents, including police and child
protection charities, supported the tracking of communications data
in principle.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said, "The big danger in
all of this is mission creep."